Conspiracy Theory - Maybe North Korea Didn't Torpedo that South Korean Ship After All

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Doubts Surface on North Korea's Role in Ship Sinking

 

Some in South Korea dispute the official version of events: that a North Korean torpedo ripped apart the Cheonan.

 

July 23, 2010|By Barbara Demick and John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times

 

Reporting from Seoul — The way U.S. officials see it, there's little mystery behind the most notorious shipwreck in recent Korean history.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls the evidence "overwhelming" that the Cheonan, a South Korean warship that sank in March, was hit by a North Korean torpedo. Vice President Joe Biden has cited the South Korean-led panel investigating the sinking as a model of transparency.

 

But challenges to the official version of events are coming from an unlikely place: within South Korea.

 

Armed with dossiers of their own scientific studies and bolstered by conspiracy theories, critics dispute the findings announced May 20 by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, which pointed a finger at Pyongyang.

 

They also question why Lee made the announcement nearly two months after the ship's sinking, on the very day campaigning opened for fiercely contested local elections. Many accuse the conservative leader of using the deaths of 46 sailors to stir up anti-communist sentiment and sway the vote.

 

The critics, mostly but not all from the opposition, say it is unlikely that the impoverished North Korean regime could have pulled off a perfectly executed hit against a superior military power, sneaking a submarine into the area and slipping away without detection. They also wonder whether the evidence of a torpedo attack was misinterpreted, or even fabricated.

 

"I couldn't find the slightest sign of an explosion," said Shin Sang-chul, a former shipbuilding executive-turned-investigative journalist. "The sailors drowned to death. Their bodies were clean. We didn't even find dead fish in the sea."

 

Doubts surface

[Guest]

This type of junk gives conspiracy theories a bad name.

 

The South Koreans would not torpedo their own ships. The North Koreans would.

 

Essentially, North Korea needs to be dealt with by force. The treatment of North Korean people is a disgrace & the leadership are very dangerous.

 

Also, if China wants to trade with us and be seen as a responsible power, it should recognise this & actively support the overthrow of the regime, rather than propping them up.

What's needed is US-Chinese co-operation, with 2 million Chinese troops on the North Border & a US military build up on the Southern side. That should have the white flag raised fairly quickly.

[Guest colinr]

"The South Koreans would not torpedo their own ships." No indeed. But that's not the theory. The theory is that there was no torpedo at all. Ie the submarine might have struck a rock.

[Guest]

"The South Koreans would not torpedo their own ships." No indeed. But that's not the theory. The theory is that there was no torpedo at all. Ie the submarine might have struck a rock.

 

What is this then?

[Bob]

Yep, there are always conspiracy nuts.

 

The international investigative team that concluded the ship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo included 24 Australian, US, British, Canadian and Swedish defence experts. All unanimously agreed with the findings. End of story.

[Guest fountainhall]

The torpedo allegedly used to down that ship was much more sophisticated than the ones which slam into the side of a ship and then explode. This one explodes in the water close to the target and it is the shockwaves that then tear the ship apart. I am not sure how the resultant damage differs from that of a conventional torpedo.

 

North Korea could easily have purchased such torpedos, and it would not be the first time their submarines have ventured in to South Korean waters without detection.

[Guest]

I can't believe South Korea has let this go. You need to stand up to dictators & respond by sinking 2 of their ships.

[Guest fountainhall]

I can't believe South Korea has let this go. You need to stand up to dictators & respond by sinking 2 of their ships.

Easy to say, but less easy to put into practice when your capital city of more than 10 million souls is not much more than 30 miles from the border of a rogue state with nuclear weapons - weapons you do not possess.