Cheonan Sinking Case Must Be Settled: KCNA Commentary

Pyongyang, April 10 (KCNA) -- There is increasing voice for reinvestigation into the case of sunken warship Cheonan in south Korea.

Organizations including the South Committee for Implementing June 15 Joint Declaration and figures of various social standings recently formed a preparatory committee for all-people joint social measure council for probe into truth about warship Cheonan case and issued a special statement demanding reinvestigation into the case.

From March 28, KBS has been airing "60 minute pursuit", a documentary based on a new video captured by a thermo image monitor at the time of the sinking of the warship and CCTV image data, drawing the attention of the public.

An article demanding reinvestigation for the probe into the truth behind the sunken warship Cheonan case was posted on website of Chongwadae to evoke lively repercussion from the public. In the meantime, an opinion poll turned out that 70 percent of the south Korean citizens does not trust the results of the investigation into the warship Cheonan case. This has prompted increasing demand for "government's" reinvestigation into the case.

The demand for reinvestigation into the case getting stronger amid mounting atmosphere of national reconciliation and unity proves that the case is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the way of improving the north-south ties.

The case was a hideous conspiratorial farce which traitor Lee Myung Bak deliberately cooked up to stamp out the June 15 era by escalating north-south confrontation and to get rid of the serious ruling crisis.

Soon after the investigation results of the authorities were made public with the "story about torpedo attack by the north" as the core, they were rejected by the south Koreans from all walks of life and the international community, and this has ever since increased all kinds of suspicions for the past eight years.

The unprecedented modern-day version of the burlesque was used for escalating confrontation with the fellow countrymen and the moves for a war against the north and for realizing the ambition for power of the pro-U.S. conservative forces. Such confrontational policies as "May 24 step", a dirty product of the farce, put the north-south relations at total stalemate.

What matters is that the present authorities, trumpeting about the abolition of conservative evils and improvement of the north-south ties, are still mired in the mysterious Cheonan case.

They let the military authorities describe a series of suspicions about the case as "something that can not be construed otherwise than the torpedo attack by the north" and held the burlesque called "commemoration of the day of defence of the West Sea", chilling the atmosphere for the improvement of the north-south ties.

As proven, it is urgent and crucial issue under the present situation to clarify the truth about the sunken warship Cheonan case and root out the stumbling block hindering the improvement of the north-south relations.

In order to realize all Koreans' desire and wish for national reconciliation and cooperation, it is imperative to settle the Cheonan case which the conservative group of traitors cooked up to derail the north-south relations.

Truth is bound to be brought to light.

The south Korean authorities have to respond to the demand of the public with proper attitud