US Asked to Send Explosives Experts

By Jung Sung-ki

Staff Reporter

The top American military officer in South Korea has pledged all possible assistance to help salvage the sunken frigate Cheonan in the West Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.

Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), visited the JCS headquarters in Seoul for talks with Chairman Gen. Lee Sang-eui on the disaster that occurred March 26.

Fourteen generals from the South Korean and U.S. military attended the meeting. Key participants included Deputy CFC Commander Gen. Hwang Eui-don; Maj. Gen. Joan A. Macdonald, chief of staff of the CFC operations bureau; and Vice JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Joong-ryeon.

Gen. Sharp said the United States will provide South Korea with related technology and equipment to help in the salvage work, according to a JCS spokesman.

The U.S. Navy has sent four warships and helicopters to the western waters to help the search-and-rescue and ship salvage mission.

Gen. Lee expressed thanks to Sharp for the ongoing U.S. military support and asked the U.S. to dispatch experts on explosives and naval accidents to help determine what caused the 1,200-ton ship to break into two and sink near the tense sea border with North Korea, the spokesman said.

The request is aimed at ensuring the objectivity and neutrality of the South Korean government's investigation, he said.

"We requested assistance from U.S. naval disaster experts for prompt investigation into what sank the ship and have received a positive response from Washington."

The Cheonan went down after an unexplained explosion. Fifty-eight crew members were rescued, but 45 others remain missing in action - one sailor was found dead, Saturday.

The South Korean military began preparations for salvaging the sunken ship Sunday after the families of the missing sailors asked it to halt underwater search and rescue operations.

Observers say the salvage operation, which will be jointly carried out by the Navy and private companies using giant cranes, could take up to a month due to adverse weather conditions and the weight of the Cheonan.

Sources say five floating cranes and three barges will be used to hoist the wreckage of the ill-fated frigate from the seafloor.

Speculation about North Korea's involvement has been flaring, largely because the ship sank near the scene of three deadly naval skirmishes between the two Koreas in 1999, 2002 and last year.

North Korea, still technically at war with Seoul as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, does not recognize the western sea border, drawn by the United Nations Command at the end of the war, and claims that it should be redrawn further south.

But Pyongyang has remained silent about the sunken ship.

In a radio address earlier Monday, President Lee Myung-bak said "accuracy is more important than speed" in determining the cause of the disaster, adding that officials should conduct a thorough investigation of the sunken ship.

During a parliamentary hearing Friday, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said the possibility of a torpedo causing the sinking "appears to be more" than that of a mine, but did not say if he suspected Pyongyang behind the incident

Earlier in the week, he had made remarks citing floating mines from North Korea as a possible cause. He and other Seoul officials, however, have been careful not to name Pyongyang as the culprit.

U.S. ships and military divers have been taking part in the so far unsuccessful efforts to rescue sailors believed to be trapped in the stern of the vessel.

미국에 폭약 전문가 파견 요청

합동참모본부는 월요일 한국에 있는 최고위 미군 장성이 서해에서 침몰한 군함을 인양하는데 가능한 한 모든 지원을 다 제공할 것을 약속했다고 밝혔다.

월터 샤프 한미연합사령관은 서울 합참 본부를 방문 이상의 의장과 3월 26일 발생한 이 침몰 사고에 관해 의견을 나눴다.

양국에서 14명의 장성이 이 회의에 참석했다.

합참 대변인에 따르면, 샤프 대장은 미국이 인양작업을 돕기 위해 관련 기술과 장비를 한국에 제공해 주겠다고 말했다.

이 사고 관련, 미 해군은 4척의 전함과 헬리콥터를 서해 수역에 파견 수색-구조 및 인양작업을 도왔다.

이 상의대장은 미국의 군사적 지원에 감사를 표하고 1200톤급 함정이 두 동강이 나 침몰한 원인을 알아내는 데 폭약과 해양 사고 전문가를 파견해 줄 것을 요청했다. 이 같은 요청은 한국 정부의 조사의 객관성과 중립성을 확보하기 위한 것이다.