North-south Korea Relations, South Korean Ship Sinked | featured news

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced Monday that his country is suspending trade with North Korea and closing its waters to the North's ships in the wake of a report from Seoul that concluded North Korea sank a South Korean warship in March.

North Korea said on Friday the peninsula was heading toward war and it was ready to tear up all agreements with the South after it accused the reclusive state of torpedoing a navy ship near their disputed border.

Evidence overwhelmingly proves North Korea fired a torpedo that sank a South Korean warship in March, killing 46 sailors, investigators say.

South Korea's military believes a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine sank its navy ship last month, based on intelligence gathered jointly with the United States, a news report said on Thursday.

North Korea says it was not involved in the sinking of a South Korean warship near their disputed maritime border last month.

A South Korean investigator said Friday that an "external explosion" was the most likely cause of the mysterious sinking of a naval ship in which 46 South Korean sailors were lost in tense waters off the North Korean coast.

Crew members who survived the sinking of a South Korean warship said Thursday they were convinced the explosion came from outside the ship.

North Korea may have deliberately directed an underwater mine toward the South Korean naval ship that exploded and sank three days ago near a disputed maritime border, the defense minister told lawmakers Monday.

A South Korean naval vessel with more than 100 aboard was sinking on Friday in waters near North Korea and Seoul was investigating whether it was hit in a torpedo attack by the North, South Korean media said.