Gov`t to Soon Brief UNSC on Sinking: Source

Officials of a joint civil-military investigation team will brief the U.N. Security Council on the sinking of the South Korean naval patrol ship Cheonan, a Seoul official said Friday.

The delegation will be led by Yoon Duk-yong, an honorary professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or KAIST.

The government also sent a letter to Mexico, the chair of the Security Council, to refer the issue to the council.

A government source in Seoul said, “The government is planning to send officials of the joint investigation team, including Chairman Yoon, to U.N. headquarters next week to brief council member countries on the Cheonan incident at a council meeting.”

An official of the joint investigation team also said, “I heard from the government that the joint investigation team will brief members of the U.N. Security Council on the investigation results, and that if this is confirmed, several team members will go to the U.S.”

Ambassador to the U.N. Park In-kook met Mexican Ambassador to Seoul Claude Heller of Mexico Friday to submit a letter asking the council to deal with the incident.

In the letter, Seoul said, “The joint investigation results clearly showed that the Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean torpedo attack,” adding, “North Korea’s military provocations threaten global peace and safety, so we urge the U.N. Security Council to deal with the matter to sternly respond to the North’s military provocations.”

The letter was sent based on Article 35 of the U.N. Charter, which stipulates that a U.N. member country can draw the attention of the Security Council for an incident that can threaten global peace and safety.

This has begun the South Korean government`s full-fledged efforts to persuade the Security Council to condemn the North. While a council meeting is under way, Seoul officials will listen to what is discussed outside of the meeting`s venue and persuade council member countries. The dispatch of team officials is part of efforts to raise the credibility of the probe results, according to experts.

Separately, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry told its state-run Korean Central News Agency the same day, “If the U.S. and its followers continue to avoid getting to the bottom of the matter and seek to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council, this will clearly show their dishonest purposes and the U.S. and the U.N. Security Council can say nothing about our firm countermeasures.”

zeitung@donga.com