South Korea Probes Naval Disaster
“The South Korean government has yet to provide an authoritative explanation of the causes of one of the worst naval disasters in the post-Korean War period (almost half of the 100+ person crew were lost at sea). The most likely cause, given statements by the ship captain and South Korean defense minister, as well as the location of the accident, is a North Korean mine. That has yet to be confirmed -- but if it proves true, the obvious and problematic question will be that of intent. Lack of clarification on the circumstances surrounding the shooting of a South Korean tourist at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea brought that multi-million dollar inter-Korean landmark project to a halt, and it remains frozen over a year and a half later. One can only imagine the damage to inter-Korean relations caused by unresolved questions in the deaths of scores of young Korean sailors,” says John Delury, Associate Director of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations.
“For the time being, however, this is a problem within South Korea, rather than between the two Koreas. Pressure is mounting on the Lee Myung-bak government to communicate more clearly with the public as to the cause of the ‘naval fiasco’ (as the conservative paper Choson Ilbo termed it), and conspiracy theories are spreading rapidly among South Korean citizens.”
John is in New York. To arrange an interview, contact the Asia Society communications department at 212-327-9271 or [email protected].