ROKS Cheonan sinking The ROKS " Cheonan " sinking occurred on 26 March 2010 , when the " Cheonan " , a Republic of Korea Navy ship carrying 104 personnel , sank off the country ' s west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea , killing 46 seamen . A South Korean - led official investigation carried out by a team of international experts from South Korea , the United States , the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia , and Sweden presented a summary of its investigation on 20 May 2010 , concluding that the warship had been sunk by a North Korean torpedo fired by a midget submarine . North Korea denied that it was responsible for the sinking . North Korea ' s further offer to aid an open investigation was disregarded . The People ' s Republic of China dismissed the official scenario presented by South Korea and the United States as not credible . An investigation by the Russian Navy also did not concur with the report . The United Nations Security Council made a Presidential Statement condemning the attack but without identifying the attacker . < ref name = UN - S / PRST / 2010 / 13 > < / ref > Background . Baengnyeong Island is a South Korean island in the Yellow Sea , off the Ongjin peninsula in North Korea . It lies less than from the North Korean coast , and is over from the South Korean mainland . The island is to the south and west of the Northern Limit Line , the " de facto " maritime boundary dividing South Korea ( ROK ) from North Korea ( DPRK ) . The area is the site of considerable tension between the two states ; although it was provided in the armistice agreement for the stalemate of the Korean war that the islands themselves belonged to the South , the sea boundary was not covered by the armistice , and the sea is claimed by the North . The situation is further complicated by the presence of a rich fishing ground used by DPRK and Chinese fishing vessels , and there have been numerous clashes over the years between naval vessels from both sides attempting to police what both sides regard as their territorial waters . These have been referred to as " crab wars " . History of ship sinkings on both sides . In late May 2010 , Bruce Cumings , Distinguished Service Professor in History at the University of Chicago and an expert on Korean affairs , commented that the sinking should be regarded as part of a two - sided tense situation in a " no - man ' s land " which has led to previous incidents . He noted a confrontation in November 2009 , in which several North Korean sailors died , and an additional incident in 1999 , when 30 North Koreans were killed and 70 wounded when their ship sank . In both incidents , the North Koreans were the first to open fire , though in the 1999 incident the South Koreans escalated matters by initiating a campaign of boat ' bumping ' in order to stop what the South saw as a violation of its maritime borders . Considering these previous incidents , Cumings said that the " Cheonan " sinking was " ripped out of context , the context of a continuing war that has never ended . Military concerns . General Walter Sharp , Commander of the South Korea - U . S . Combined Forces Command at the time , had on 24 March ( US Eastern time ) , testified before the US House Appropriations Committee , in part , on the need to strengthen the ROK - US alliance , the need for on - site advanced training of the Air Force , the need to improve the quality of life and provide tour normalization for troops serving one - year tours , planned relocation of bases , and the scheduled 2012 transition of Operational Control ( OPCON ) to ROK hands . He also warned of the possibility that North Korea could " even launch an attack on the ROK . " Sinking of " Cheonan " . On the night of the sinking the U . S . and South Korea Navies were engaged in joint anti - submarine warfare exercises 75 miles away from the site of the sinking . This exercise was part of the annual " Key Resolve / Foal Eagle " war exercise , described as " one of the world ' s largest simulated exercises " , and involved many modern U . S . and South Korean warships . On Friday , 26 March 2010 , an explosion was reported to have occurred near the " Cheonan " , a , near the stern of the ship at 9 : 22 pm local time . ( 12 : 22 pmGMT / UTC ) This caused the ship to break in half five minutes afterward , sinking at approximately 9 : 30 pm ( 2130 hrs ) local time about off the south - west coast of Baengnyeong Island . Some initial reports suggested that the ship was hit by a North Korean torpedo , and that a South Korean vessel had returned fire , however the South Korean Ministry of Defense stressed in the first press briefings after the sinking that there was " no indication of North Korean involvement " . Several theories have subsequently been put forth by various agencies as to the cause of the sinking . Early reports also suggested that South Korean Navy units had shot at an unidentified ship heading towards North Korea , however a defense official later said that this target may have been a flock of birds that were misidentified on radar . The ship had a crew of 104 men at the time of sinking , and 58 crewmembers were rescued by 11 : 13 pm local time . The remaining 46 crew were presumably killed . The stern of the " Cheonan " settled on its left side in deep water close to the site of the sinking , but the bow section took longer to sink and settled overturned in of water away with a small part of the hull visible above the water . Rescue efforts . Initially six South Korean Navy and two South Korean Coastguard ships assisted in the rescue as well as aircraft from the Republic of Korea Air Force . It was reported on March 27 that hopes of finding the 46 missing crew alive were fading . Survival time in the water was estimated at about two hours and large waves were hampering rescue attempts . After the sinking , President Lee said that recovery of any survivors was the main priority . Air was pumped into the ship to keep any survivors alive . During the course of the search and rescue effort over 24 military vessels were involved , including at least four US Navy vessels , the , the , the , and the . On 30 March 2010 it was reported that one South Korean naval diver had died after losing consciousness whilst searching for survivors and another had been hospitalised . On 3 April 2010 , South Korean officials said that a private fishing boat involved in the rescue operations had collided with a Cambodia n freighter , sinking the fishing boat and killing at least two people , with seven reported missing . The same day , the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said that one body of the 46 missing sailors had been found . Later on 3 April 2010 South Korea called off the rescue operation for the missing sailors , after families of the sailors asked for the operation to be suspended for fear of further casualties among the rescue divers . The military ' s focus then shifted towards salvage operations , which were predicted to take up to a month to complete . Recovery . On 15 April 2010 , the stern section of the ship was winched from the seabed by a large floating crane , drained of water and placed on a barge for transportation to the Pyongtaek navy base . On 23 April 2010 , the stack was recovered . The same crane raised the bow portion of the " Cheonan " on 24 April 2010 . The salvaged parts of the ship were taken to Pyongtaek navy base for an investigation into the cause of the sinking by both South Korean and foreign experts . The bodies of 40 personnel out of 46 who went down with the ship were recovered . Cause of sinking . Early speculation . South Korean officials initially downplayed suggestions that North Korea was responsible for the sinking . On 29 March 2010 , following an underwater examination of the wreck , Defense Minister Kim Tae - Young stated that the explosion may have been caused by a North Korean mine , possibly left over from the Korean War . On 2 April Kim said it was a " likely possibility " that a torpedo had sunk the " Cheonan " . The South Korean newspaper " The Chosun Ilbo " reported on 31 March 2010 that a North Korean submarine was observed near the site of the sinking by South Korean and American intelligence agencies . Another report from the same newspaper said that Captain Choi Won - il of the " Cheonan " made a call on his mobile phone right after the explosion in which he said " We are being attacked by the enemy . " On 30 March 2010 , Defense ministry spokesman Won Tae - jae , dismissed speculation that a submarine could have torpedoed the ship , stating that no " extraordinary activities " had been confirmed . On 2 April 2010 , " The Chosun Ilbo " cited unnamed defense agency officers as speculating that a torpedo from a North Korean two - man submersible could have sunk the ship , as there was so far no evidence of an internal explosion . In a separate statement later the same day , the Defense Ministry said that its investigation had ruled out the possibility of an internal explosion , as testimony from survivors had not supported such a conclusion . The ministry reiterated that it would not speculate on the cause until its investigation was complete . Director of the Pusan National University Ship Structural Mechanics Laboratory , Jeom Kee Paik , suggested " Cheonan " may have grounded in the area ' s shallow water , which is not usually navigated , and took in water from the damaged bottom before breaking in two . South Korean media reports had stated that the hull was found to have split cleanly , suggesting a non - explosive cause . On 7 April 2010 , the chairman of the South Korean National Assembly ' s Defense Committee , Kim Hak - song , stated that damage to the ship was of a type that is " inevitably the result of a torpedo or mine attack . " The same day , National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei - hoon stated that according to their intelligence , and that obtained from the U . S . Central Intelligence Agency , there was no unusual North Korean activity on the day of the sinking , confirming an earlier similar statement by General Walter Sharp , Commander of the ROK - US Combined Forces . On 25 April 2010 , Defense Minister Kim said that the most likely cause of the explosion that sank the " Cheonan " was a torpedo ; his statements were the first time that a South Korean official publicly cited such a cause . Kim said that " A bubble jet caused by a heavy torpedo is thought to be the most likely thing to be blamed , but various other possibilities are also under review . " A bubble jet is caused by an underwater explosion which changes the pressure of water , and whose force can cause a ship to break apart . The bubble jet theory was supported by one of the investigators into the incident , who had said that there was no evidence that an explosion had occurred in contact with a ship , and that a non - contact explosion had most likely broken the ship in half . " The Hankyoreh " newspaper and other sources have questioned how an anti - submarine corvette such as the " Cheonan " in the middle of a joint South Korean - U . S . naval exercise could have failed to detect an attacking submarine or at least its torpedo . Investigation . After raising the ship , South Korea and the United States formed a joint investigative team to discover the cause of the sinking . Later South Korea announced that it intended to form an international group to investigate the sinking including Canada , Britain , Sweden and Australia . On 16 April 2010 , Yoon Duk - yong , co - chairman of the investigation team , said " In an initial examination of the " Cheonan ' s " stern , South Korean and U . S . investigators found no traces showing that the hull had been hit directly by a torpedo . Instead , we ' ve found traces proving that a powerful explosion caused possibly by a torpedo had occurred underwater . The explosion might have created a bubble jet that eventually generated an enormous shock wave and caused the ship to break in two . " Traces of an explosive chemical substance used in torpedoes , RDX , were later found in May 2010 . The " Washington Post " reported on 19 May 2010 , that a team of investigators from Sweden , Australia , Britain , and the United States had concluded that a North Korean torpedo sank the ship . The team found that the torpedo used was identical to a North Korean torpedo previously captured by South Korea . On 25 April 2010 , the investigative team announced that the cause of the sinking was a non - contact underwater explosion . On 7 May 2010 , a government official said that a team of South Korean civilian and military experts had found traces of RDX , a high explosive more powerful than TNT and used in torpedoes . On 19 May 2010 , the discovery of a fragment of metal containing a serial number similar to one on a North Korean torpedo salvaged by South Korea in 2003 was announced . In their summary for the United Nations Security Council , the investigation group was described as the " Joint Civilian - Military Investigation Group of the Republic of Korea with the participation of international experts from Australia , Sweden , the United Kingdom and the United States , and the Multinational Combined Intelligence Task Force , comprising the Republic of Korea , Australia , Canada , the United Kingdom and the United States , " which consisted of " 25 experts from 10 top Korean expert agencies , 22 military experts , 3 experts recommended by the National Assembly , and 24 foreign experts constituting 4 support teams " . Joint Civilian - Military Investigation Group ( JIG ) report . Summary . On 20 May the South Korean - led investigation group released a summary of their report in which they concluded that the sinking of the warship was the result of a North Korean torpedo attack , commenting that " The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine . " The inquiry also alleged that a group of small submarines , escorted by a support ship , departed from a North Korean naval base a few days before the sinking . The specific weapon used was alleged to be a North Korean manufactured CHT - 02D torpedo , of which substantial parts were recovered . According to the " Chosun Ilbo " , South Korean investigators told their journalists that they believe that one or two North Korean submarines , a Yono class submarine and the other a Sang - O class submarine , departed a naval base at Cape Bipagot accompanied by a support ship on 23 March 2010 . One of the subs , according to the report , detoured around to the west side of Baengnyeong Island , arriving on 25 March 2010 . There , it waited about 30 meters under the ocean ' s surface in waters 40 to 50 meters deep for the " Cheonan " to pass by . Investigators believe that the submarine fired the torpedo from about 3 km away . The attack appears to have been timed for a period when tidal forces in the area were slow . The North Korean vessels returned to port on 28 March 2010 . Such detailed information on the North Korean submarine movements , and attack position , was not in the official summary or final report . The torpedo parts recovered at the site of the explosion by a dredging ship on 15 May which include the 5×5 bladed contra - rotating propellers , propulsion motor and a steering section , was claimed to match the schematics of the CHT - 02D torpedo included in introductory brochures provided to foreign countries by North Korea for export purposes . An incorrect , though similar , torpedo schematic had by mistake been shown at the televised RIG briefing for comparison with the recovered parts . The correct schematic has never been made public . The markings in Hangul , which reads " 1번 " ( or No . 1 in English ) , found inside the end of the propulsion section , is consistent with the marking of a previously obtained North Korean torpedo , but inconsistent with one found seven years ago , which is marked " 4호 . " Critics have pointed out that ' 호 " is the term used most often in the North , rather than " 번 . " Russian and Chinese torpedoes are marked in their respective languages . The CHT - 02D torpedo manufactured by North Korea utilizes acoustic / wake homing and passive acoustic tracking methods . Simulations indicated that 250 kg of TNT equivalent explosive at 6 to 9 m depth , 3 m to the port of the center line , would result in the damage seen to the " Cheonan " . The full report was not been released to the public at this time , though the South Korean legislature was provided with a five - page synopsis of the report . The North Korean Central News Agency released a response to the investigation on 28 May 2010 , asserting , among other things , that it is unbelievable that part of a torpedo doing so much damage to a ship would survive : " the assertion that the screw shaft and engine remained undamaged and unchanged in shape is also a laughing shock . Even U . S . and British members of the international investigation team , which had blindly backed the south Korean regime in its " investigation " , were perplexed at the exhibit in a glass box . " Full report . A draft copy of the report was obtained by " Time " magazine in early August 2010 , before the final report was released , which also obtained information about the final copy . According to " Time " , the report presents evidence for a total of eleven different reasons why the ship sank , all of which were dismissed except for that of North Korean involvement , which is considered a " high possibility . " In support of this conclusion , the report says that witnesses had reported seeing flashes of light or sounds of an explosion , as well as that the US Navy analysis of the wreck concluded that a torpedo containing 250 kilograms of explosives had collided with " Cheonan " six to nine meters below the waterline . Damage to the hull supported this conclusion , while inconsistent with what would be expected if the ship had run aground or had been hit with a missile . On 13 September 2010 , the full report was released . It concluded that " Cheonan " had been sunk due to a torpedo explosion , which , while not having contacted the ship , exploded several meters from the hull of the ship and caused a shockwave and bubble effect of sufficient strength to severely damage and sink the ship . South Korea skepticism . According to a survey conducted by Seoul National University ' s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies , less than one third of South Koreans trust the findings of the multinational panel . A later survey by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper in 2011 found that 68 percent of South Koreans trusted the government ' s report that the " Cheonan " was sunk by a North Korean submersible . Lee Jung Hee , a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Labor Party , was sued for defamation by seven people at South Korea ' s Joint Chiefs of Staff . Lee said during a speech in parliament that while the Defense Ministry had said there was no feed from a thermal observation device showing the moment the warship ' s stern and bow split apart , such a video did exist . Prosecutors then questioned Shin Sang - cheol , who served on the panel that investigated the incident and also runs Seoprise , over his assertion that the " Cheonan " sank in an accident and that the evidence linking the North to the torpedo was tampered with . The Defense Ministry asked the National Assembly to eject Shin from the panel for " arousing public mistrust . " Shin stated that he doubted the official conclusion on the sinking , saying that when he looked at the dead sailors ' bodies , they bore no signs of an explosion . Shin wrote a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showing the evidence for his contention that the ship ran aground and then collided with another vessel . Russian Navy experts assessment . Near the end of May a team of Russian Navy submarine and torpedo experts visited South Korea to conduct an assessment of the South Korean led investigation . The team returned to Russia with samples for further physical - chemical analysis . No official statement on the assessment has been made . It was claimed that the assessment concluded " Cheonan " was not sunk by a North Korean bubble jet torpedo , but did not come to any firm conclusion about the cause of the sinking . " The Hindu " quoted a Russian Navy source stating that " after examining the available evidence and the ship wreckage Russian experts came to the conclusion that a number of arguments produced by the international investigation in favour of the DPRK ' s involvement in the corvette sinking were not weighty enough ” . On 27 July 2010 , " The Hankyoreh " published what it claimed was a detailed summary of the Russian Navy expert team ' s analysis . According to " The Hankyoreh " , the Russian investigators concluded that " Cheonan " touched the sea floor and damaged one of its propellers prior to a non - contact explosion , possibly caused by setting off a mine while the ship was trying to maneuver into deeper water . Visual examination of the torpedo parts South Korea found purportedly indicated that it had been in the water for more than 6 months . On the following day South Korean officials responded with " a full - scale refutation " . On 3 August 2010 Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin stated that his country ' s investigative report ' s conclusions into the sinking would not be made public . Withholding the investigation results was seen as insensitive by South Korea , but avoided political damage to a number of states . Chinese claims . During talks between the American and Chinese governments in late May 2010 , Chinese officials are reported by Yoichi Shimatsu , a commentator for the Chinese state - run CCTV - 9 to have claimed that the sinking of the " Cheonan " had been as a result of an American rising mine , which is moored to the seabed and propels itself into a ship detected by sound or magnetics , planted during anti - submarine exercises that were conducted by the South Korean and US navies shortly before the sinking . To back up their claims , the Chinese said that North Korean submarines such as the one believed to have sunk the " Cheonan " were incapable of moving undetected within South Korean waters , and a rising mine would have damaged the ship by splitting the hull , as was done to the " Cheonan " , rather than simply holing the vessel as a conventional torpedo does . A conventional torpedo traveling at 40 – 50 knots would also be completely destroyed upon impact , which was claimed to contradict the torpedo parts found later . " The Daily Telegraph " journalist Peter Foster in a blog post noted that while not everyone ( including Russia and China ) was convinced of the truth of the international inquiry into the ROKS Cheonan Sinking , some conspiracy theories and unanswered questions on the sinking , including one ascribing responsibility of the sinking to a rising mine deployed during a joint US - South Korean Foal Eagle anti - submarine exercises , ought to be read " with a large pinch of salt . " Other international research . A separate investigation conducted by scientists at the University of Manitoba yielded results that conflict with the official investigation ' s findings . According to the leader of the investigation , residue on the hull of the ship that was claimed to have been aluminum oxide , which is a byproduct of explosions such as that of a torpedo , had a far higher ratio of oxygen to aluminum , leading the researchers to conclude that " we cannot say that the substance adhering to the " Cheonan " was the explosion byproduct of aluminum oxide . " The South Korean Ministry of Defense issued a rebuttal to the findings , saying , " “ The detonation of explosives containing aluminum occurs within hundreds of thousandths of a second under high temperatures of more than 3 , 000 degrees Celsius and high pressures of more than 200 , 000 atm , and most of it becomes noncrystalline aluminum oxide . ” A report published online by " Nature " on 8 July 2010 noted several instances of groups or individuals disagreeing with the official report . The article also notes the rebuttal of those disagreements by analysts and government officials , with one analyst arguing that the sinking was " consistent with North Korea ' s behaviour in the past . " Reaction . South Korea . South Korean President Lee Myung - bak convened an emergency meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Orders were given to the military to concentrate on rescuing the survivors . In Seoul , police were put on alert . At the time , a spokesman for the South Korean military stated that there was no evidence that North Korea had been involved in the incident . A large group of relatives of the missing sailors protested outside the navy base at Pyeongtaek over the lack of information provided to them . On 28 March relatives were taken to the site of the sunken vessel . Some relatives stated that survivors had claimed that the " Cheonan " had been in a poor state of repair . The Korean media have raised the issue of why the sister ship , which was operating nearby , did not come to the rescue of the sinking ship but instead fired shots at radar images which were later confirmed to be migratory birds . On 5 April 2010 , President Lee Myung - bak visited Baengnyeong Island . He reiterated that it was risky to speculate over the cause , and the joint military and civilian investigation team would determine the cause . He said , " We have to find the cause in a way that satisfies not only our people but also the international community " . The president of South Korea has mourned the victims and said that he will respond " resolutely " to the sinking without yet laying blame for its cause . On 24 May Lee Myung - bak said the South would " resort to measures of self - defense in case of further military provocation of the Democratic People ' s Republic of Korea . " He also supported readopting the official description of the North as the " main enemy . " South Korea pursued measures from the United Nations Security Council after the incident , although the language used in the country ' s statements towards such measures became progressively weaker . In announcements made soon after the sinking , the government said that any draft presented by South Korea would explicitly state that North Korea was responsible for the incident , but by early July , the language had been reduced to only referring to " those responsible , " in response to concerns from Russia . Diplomatic . Since the incident , the South Korean government has been reluctant to engage in further diplomacy with North Korea over disputes such as North Korea ' s nuclear weapons program . In response to a request by China , in April 2011 South Korea agreed to talks , but South Korean government officials commented that an apology from North Korea for the sinking would probably be necessary to facilitate any significant progress in the dialogues . Military . On 2 May it was reported that South Korea ' s naval minister vowed " retaliation " against those responsible . Admiral Kim Sung - chan , at a publicly televised funeral for the " Cheonan ' s " dead crew members in Pyeongtaek , stated that , " We will not sit back and watch whoever caused this pain for our people . We will hunt them down and make them pay a bigger price . " On 4 May President Lee proposed " extensive reformations " for the South Korean military regarding the sinking incident . After the official report was released South Korea has said that it will take strong countermeasures against the North . Trade . On 24 May 2010 , South Korea announced it would stop nearly all its trade with North Korea as a result of the official report blaming North Korea for the sinking . South Korea also announced it would prohibit North Korean vessels from using its shipping channels . According to the " New York Times " , the trade embargoes were " the most serious action " South Korea could take short of military action . The United States openly supported South Korea ' s decision . The embargo is expected to cost the North Korean economy roughly $ 200 million a year . The decision to cease trade was followed up with the United States and South Korea announcing they would conduct joint naval exercises in response to the sinking . Psychological warfare . The South Korean military announced that it would resume psychological warfare directed at North Korea . This would include both loudspeaker and FM radio propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ . Meanwhile , a commander in the North Korean People ' s Army stated , “ If South Korea establishes new psychological warfare services , we will fire against them in order to eliminate them , ” according to a report carried by the Chosun Central News Agency ( KCNA ) . South Korea began propaganda broadcasts into North Korea by radio on 25 May . North Korea responded by putting its troops on high alert , and severed most remaining ties and communications with South Korea in response to what it called a " smear campaign " by Seoul . South Korean military propaganda FM broadcasts were resumed at 18 : 00 ( local time ) starting with the song " HuH " by K - pop band 4minute . As part of the propaganda broadcasts , South Korea reinstalled loudspeakers at eleven places along the DMZ . There was originally a plan to also use electronic signs , although due to cost , the plan was reportedly being reconsidered . On 13 June , South Korean media announced that the South Korean Defense Minister , Kim Tae - young , had said that anti - North Korea broadcasts were planned to resume after the UN Security Council took action against North Korea in response to the sinking of the " Cheonan " . Suppressing internal dissent . Discourse over the events leading to the sinking of the " Cheonan " was tightly controlled by the South Korean government in the months after the incident . On 8 May 2010 , a former senior presidential secretary who served under Roh Moo - hyun , Park Seon - won , was charged with libel by South Korea ' s Defense Minister , Kim Tae - young , over comments he made during a 22 April interview on MBC radio asking for greater disclosure from the military and government . Park Seon - won ' s response to the charge was : " I asked for the disclosure of information for a transparent and impartial investigation into the cause of the " Cheonan " sinking ; " he added that " the libel suit seeks to silence public suspicion over the incident . " South Korea ' s Minister of Public Administration and Security , Maeng Hyung - kyu , announced on 20 May 2010 that the government was stepping up efforts to prosecute people who spread " groundless rumors " over the internet : " Anyone who makes false reports or articles about the incident could seriously damage national security . We will not let these be the basis of any risks the nation faces . " Moreover , he announced the government would step up efforts to prevent " illegal gatherings " regarding the sinking of the " Cheonan " . A South Korean military oversight board , the Board of Inspection and Audit , has accused senior South Korean naval leaders of lying and hiding information . Said the board , " Military officers deliberately left out or distorted key information in their report to senior officials and the public because they wanted to avoid being held to account for being unprepared . " North Korea . The North Korean Central News Agency released an official response to the investigation on 28 May 2010 , asserting , amongst other things , that it is unbelievable that part of a torpedo doing so much damage to a ship would survive : " Besides , the assertion that the screw shaft and engine remained undamaged and unchanged in shape is also a laughing shock . Even U . S . and British members of the international investigation team , which had blindly backed the south Korean regime in its ' investigation ' , were perplexed at the exhibit in a glass box . " On 17 April 2010 , it was reported that North Korea officially denied having had anything to do with the sinking , responding to what it referred to as " The puppet military warmongers , right - wing conservative politicians and the group of other traitors in South Korea " . An article from the official ( North ) Korean Central News Agency entitled " Military Commentator Denies Involvement in Ship Sinking " stated that the event was an accident . . . . we have so far regarded the accident as a regretful accident that should not happen in the light of the fact that many missing persons and most of rescued members of the crew are fellow countrymen forced to live a tiresome life in the puppet army . On 21 May 2010 , North Korea offered to send their own investigative team to review the evidence compiled by South Korea , and the Hankyoreh quoted Kim Yeon - chul , professor of unification studies at Inje University , commenting on the offer : " It is unprecedented in the history of inter - Korean relations for North Korea to propose sending an investigation team in response to an issue that has been deemed a ' military provocation by North Korea , ' " and thus " The " Cheonan " situation has entered a new phase . " The North also warned of a wide range of hostile reactions to any move by the South to hold it accountable for the sinking . If the South puppet group comes out with ' response ' and ' retaliation ' , we will respond strongly with ruthless punishment including the total shutdown of North - South ties , abrogation of the North - South agreement on non - aggression and abolition of all North - South cooperation projects . On 24 May , new reports indicated Kim Jong - Il had ordered the North ' s forces to be ready for combat a week before . The next day , North Korea released a list of measures that it will take in response to South Korea ' s sanctions . This would include the cutting of all ties and communications , except for the Kaesong industrial complex . They would revert to a wartime footing in regard to South Korea and disallow any South Korean ships or aircraft to enter the territory of North Korea . On 27 May , North Korea announced that it would scrap an agreement aimed at preventing accidental naval clashes with South Korea . It also announced that any South Korean vessel found crossing the disputed maritime border would be immediately attacked . On 28 May , the official ( North ) KCNA stated that " it is the United States that is behind the case of " Cheonan " . The investigation was steered by the U . S . from its very outset . " It also accused the United States of manipulating the investigation and named the administration of US President Barack Obama directly of using the case for " escalating instability in the Asia - Pacific region , containing big powers and emerging unchallenged in the region . " On 29 May , North Korea warned the United Nations to be wary of evidence presented in the international investigation , likening the case to the claims of weapons of mass destruction that the U . S . used to justify its war against Iraq in 2003 and stated that " the U . S . is seriously mistaken if it thinks it can occupy the Korean Peninsula just as it did Iraq with sheer lies . " The North Korea foreign minister warned the United Nations Security Council of risks of being " misused " . It also accused the U . S . of joining South Korea in putting " China into an awkward position and keep hold on Japan and South Korea as its servants . " High ranking North Korean military officials denounced the international investigation and said the North does not have the type of submarines that supposedly carried out the attack . They also dismissed claims regarding writings on the torpedo and clarified that " when we put serial numbers on weapons , we engrave them with machines . " South Korea ' s Yonhap News quoted South Korean officials as saying the North has about 10 of the Yeono class submarines . On 2 November , KCNA published a detailed rebuttal of the South Korean joint investigative team report . The " Rodong Sinmun " summarized research by saying that the " probability of a torpedo attack on ( the ) Cheonan Warship " was 0 % . International . When the official report on the sinking was released on 20 May there was widespread international condemnation of the North ' s actions . China was one of few exceptions , simply terming the incident " unfortunate " and " urged stability on the peninsula " . This was speculated to be China ' s concern for instability in the Korean peninsula . On 14 June 2010 , South Korea presented the results of its investigation to United Nations Security Council members . < ref name = UN - S / 2010 / 281 > < / ref > In a subsequent meeting with council members North Korea stated that it had nothing to do with the incident . < ref name = UN - S / 2010 / 294 > < / ref > On 9 July 2010 the United Nations Security Council made a Presidential Statement condemning the attack but without identifying the attacker . China had resisted U . S . calls for a tougher line against North Korea . Later reports . A member of the North Korean cabinet who defected to the south in 2011 , said on 7 December 2012 that the crew of the North Korean submarine which sank " Cheonan " had been honored by the North Korean military and government . The defector , known by the alias " Ahn Cheol - nam " , stated that the captain , co - captain , engineer , and boatswain of the mini - sub which sank the " Cheonan " had been awarded " Hero of the DPRK " in October 2010 .