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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 7509724" data-attributes="member: 92282">Korean stand-off: Stealthy mission that has brought neighbours close  to warA North Korean naval unit crept out of port on the country’s Yellow  Sea coast    in the middle of March on a mission to encounter and destroy South  Korean    ships, intelligence analysts believe.  "We detected that a few small submarines and a mother ship supporting  them    left a North Korean naval base in the West Sea two to three days prior  to    the attack," Vice Admiral Hwang Won-dong told reporters. The South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, was on a routine patrol around  one    nautical mile off the coast of Baengnyeong Island, close to the  Northern    Limit Line, the UN designated border between North and South Korea  imposed    after the civil war of 1950-1953.   The ship was a modern 1,200 ton Pohang-class corvette – a coastal patrol     frigate - of the Republic of Korea Navy, commissioned in 1989, which  had    already seen action during a 1999 border skirmish at Yeonpyeong in the     Yellow Sea.    It was equipped with six torpedoes and 12 depth charges for use in    anti-submarine operations but apparently was unaware it was being  stalked.   "We do not know whether the North observed the Cheonan in advance to  attack    but we believe that North Korean submarines must have undergone prior    military drills, including firing a torpedo, in waters similar to  those in    which the South's frigate was sunk,” Vice Admiral Hwang said.   The North Korean Navy has a fleet of about 70 submarines, varying from  the    dated, former Soviet Romeo class submarines at 1,800 tons, to the  Sango    class submarines at 300 tons and 10 “midget” submarines of the Yeono  class    at 130 tons, based on a Yugoslav design primarily used for commando  raids    and mine laying.   Vice Admiral Hwang, who led the intelligence analysis unit of the    international investigation team, said they believed a 300 ton and a  130 ton    submarine were operating in the West Sea on the night of March 26 and  that    the attack was probably carried out by the smaller vessel.   At around 9.20 pm on March 26 a sentry on the shore of Baengnyeong  Island saw    a 100-meter-high "pillar of white flash" lasting two to three seconds.   On shore Korean geologists recorded a seismic wave and two infrasound  waves    with a 1.1 second interval.   Sailors on board the ship heard two near-simultaneous explosions and the     port-side look out was knocked from his feet as water was thrown into  the    air.   The ship instantly split in two and sank within five minutes, drowning  46    members of the 104-strong crew.   With tensions between the two countries running high, a salvage team  raised    the ship and an international team including British military experts  was    brought in to investigate.   Analysis of the damaged part of the hull showed the underwater stern and  bow    sections were bent upward where the ship had split apart.   Experts also noted the central vertical keel had been bent upwards and  there    was damage around the bulkhead and maintenance openings in the gas  turbine    room.   The dead crew had cuts and fractures but no burn marks, suggesting there  had    been an underwater explosion rather than one on the ship.   The experts concluded that the ship had suffered a “shockwave and bubble     effect” caused by an underwater explosion.   Simulations showed that a 200 to 300kg explosion probably occurred at a  depth    of about 6 to 9m, on the left side of the gas turbine room.   The key evidence was found on May 15 when a dredging ship brought up the     contra-rotating propellers, propulsion motor and a steering section of  a    CHT-02D North Korean torpedo, a 1.7 ton weapon with an explosive  weight of    up to 250kg.   The parts matched those illustrated in introductory brochures provided  to    foreign countries by North Korea for export and included a marking  meaning    “Number One” in English.  <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/7746017/Korean-stand-off-Stealthy-mission-that-has-brought-neighbours-close-to-war.html" target="_blank">telegraph</a></blockquote>

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