KCNA Commentary Demands S. Korean Side Make Apology and Compensation for Damage Done to Ship of North

  Pyongyang, March 15 (KCNA) -- As already reported, south Korean ship Hinee bumped against the north's ship Turubong-3 in the East Sea of Korea in October last year, causing a serious damage and taking to flight.
    This was deliberate and barbarous gansterism in the sea to dampen the spirit of all service personnel and people of the DPRK mounting on the threshold of the 70th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea and invent a pretext for inciting confrontation.
    However, the south Korean side made neither apology nor compensation for the incident.
    Much upset by the DPRK's strong protest and rapidly mounting criticism by the international community, the south Korean puppet authorities made the owner of ship Hinee select a lawyers office and insurance company for the examination of damage in a country and request them to look into the incident.
    The DPRK received an examination delegation and made a detailed field examination with it. As a result, the delegation learned well about how the incident happened and its cause and clearly admitted the damage done to the ship.
    As all data about the incident were objectively confirmed by the third party, the competent organ of the DPRK strongly demanded the south Korean ship owner to pay damages without delay.
    But the ship owner has still refused to pay the damages, without making any apology under the pretext of the prevailing tense situation between the north and the south.
    This is a gangster-like behavior.
    For the south Korean side to evade the due payment of damages under the pretence of the situation on the Korean peninsula, discarding humanitarian commitment, is a hideous human rights abuse as it completely discarded elementary morality and obligation.
    According to international law, when a disaster happens in a sea, every ship is obliged to help distress-torn ship and an assailant is obliged to unconditionally pay indemnities for the damage.
    There can be neither excuse nor pretext in fulfilling the international legal obligation.
    Tension is now escalating in various parts of the world but humanitarian measures are being still taken under the obligations of international law.
    The crime committed by the above-said south Korean ship is obviously an unethical and inhumane one, a wanton breach of the UN Law of the Sea.
    This being a hard fact, the ship owner's impudent behavior clearly suggests who is behind the fabrication of the incident.
    It is none other than the south Korean puppet authorities who egged Highny on to deliberately bump against the north's ship in order to bedevil the north-south relations and are instigating him to persistently evade any apology and compensation in contravention of international law.
    This action once again brought to light the true colors of the Park Geun Hye group of traitors who have trumpeted about "humanitarianism" and "human rights" so loudly.
    South Korea is a lawless land as the puppet authorities caused such hideous disaster as the ferry Sewol sinking but took a hands-off approach towards it while pretending ignorance of it.
    It is, indeed, a barren land and tundra of human rights where the people's elementary right to existence is not guaranteed due to the unpopular rule of the Park group of traitors.
    It is the height of hypocritical and double-dealing attitude that the puppet group is fabricating a flurry of evil laws for confrontation such as the "law on human rights in the north" to do harm to the fellow countrymen in the north, pretending ignorance of the reality of the south Korean society.
    It is none other than the group of traitors who is leading the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a war by staging the large-scale joint military exercises. It is another unpardonable criminal act against human rights that such arch criminals are using the tense situation as a smokescreen for covering up their unethical and inhumane crime.
    With neither sophism nor lie can the puppet group conceal its despicable true colors as perpetrators of gangsterism in the sea or evade the responsibility for it.
    Its persistent moves to evade the responsibility would only more saliently reveal its true colors as human rights abusers and invite severer punishment.
    The DPRK will resolutely counter any act of impairing its dignity and honor and destroying the product of the precious sweat and blood of its people and force the south Korean side to make an apology and compensation for the damage under any circumstances. -0-