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(LEAD) Seoul seeks support of China, Russia to refer warship sinking to U.N.
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, April 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will engage in prior consultations with China and Russia in referring last month's deadly warship sinking to the United Nations, a ranking official here said Wednesday, as North Korea increasingly became a suspect in the naval disaster.
Seoul will also inform the two countries, traditional allies of the North, of the results of its investigation into the sinking of Cheonan and seek their support in actions against those responsible, the official said.
The 1,200-ton patrol ship sank on March 26 near the volatile border with North Korea in the Yellow Sea, killing 40 of its 104 crew members. Six missing sailors are also presumed dead.
Investigators have said an external "non-contact" explosion likely caused the tragic sinking, heightening suspicions that North Korea may have been involved, although they have not made explicit accusations. The site of the sinking lies close to where the navies of the two Koreas clashed in bloody skirmishes since 1999.
The support of China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council with veto power, is crucial to reaching any meaningful action on the Cheonan disaster by the council.
"There is a need to adequately brief China and Russia (before taking the issue to the U.N. Security Council) because, unlike the United States, the countries are not directly involved in the investigation and may have different security interests," the official told reporters, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Seoul will also provide the official outcome of its investigation to the two countries when it is made final, the official added.
Both Chinese and Russian ambassadors in Seoul visited foreign ministry officials Wednesday for discussions on various issues, believed to include the Cheonan incident.
China's new ambassador Zhang Xinsen met with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan as he began his official term here this week after presenting his credentials to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
Following their official meeting, Yu and the Chinese diplomat held private talks unattended by others, during which the two are believed to have discussed sensitive issues such as the Cheonan tragedy.
Russian ambassador Konstantin Vnukov met with Seoul's chief nuclear envoy to North Korea denuclearization talks, Wi Sung-lac.
An official said the two discussed the "investigation into the sinking of Cheonan and the measures that will follow."
Despite their close relations with Pyongyang, both China and Russia voted in favor of a U.N. Security Council resolution last year condemning North Korea's missile and nuclear tests and imposing far-reaching economic sanctions on the impoverished nation.
However, officials at Seoul's foreign ministry said it would be difficult, even with hard evidence showing North Korea's involvement, to win the countries' support in punishing the North because the sinking of a warship can be regarded as a bilateral issue whereas a nuclear test is considered a global security threat.
Seoul has yet to find any definitive evidence, such as debris from a torpedo, believed to be a likely cause of the explosion, to prove North Korea's involvement. But some say circumstantial evidence points to the communist regime.
"The damaged ship itself is hard evidence," the official said, implying that an external explosion suggests an attack.
Both the stern and bow of the broken ship have been salvaged and are now under close examination by a joint investigation team, consisting of officials and experts from South Korea, the United States, Australia, Britain and Sweden.
Photos and three-dimensional images of the ship's wreckage will soon be sent to U.S. naval labs for thorough analysis, officials here said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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