The government announced Thursday that a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan warship in late March, confirming widespread suspicions the communist neighbor is responsible for the tragedy that killed 46 sailors.
An international team of investigators reached the conclusion after scrutinizing the wreckage of the 1,200-ton patrol ship and other evidence collected from the scene, including North Korean torpedo parts, said Yoon Duk-yong, co-head of the investigation team.
"We have reached the clear conclusion that ROK's Cheonan was sunk as the result of an external underwater explosion caused by a torpedo made in North Korea," Yoon told reporters.
"The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine. There is no other further explanation."
North Korea has been widely suspected of sinking the vessel on the night of March 26 in retaliation after losing a naval skirmish to the South in November last year. Both incidents took place near the tense inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea.
The finding is expected to seriously exacerbate already troubled relations between the two Koreas. Efforts to reopen long-stalled international talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs are also expected to suffer in the wake of the finding.
South Korea has repeatedly vowed to deal sternly with whoever is found responsible. Possible options Seoul has been contemplating include referring the case to the U.N. Security Council to punish Pyongyang.
Earlier in the day, President Lee Myung-bak vowed to take ``resolute action'' against North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Cheong Wa Dae said that Lee made the pledge during a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Lee made similar phone call to his U.S. counterpart Tuesday and agreed to seek cooperation over the sinking of the naval warship.
A senior military officer gazes grimly at the torn wreckage of the Cheonan warship, voicing his anger as investigators prepare to name the culprit behind its sinking -- North Korea, Yonhap News said in the naval port of Pyeongtaek.
"It should not have happened," he says, "I was shocked by the horrifying scene of the ship."
Speaking at the 2nd Fleet headquarters in this port city, where investigators pieced together the stern and the bow of the broken 1,200-ton corvette, the officer makes it no secret that anti-Pyongyang sentiments run deep among his colleagues.
"We should not forget this and take strong action to prevent this from happening again," says the officer, whose unit is guarding the wreckage. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to media.
The Cheonan sank on the night of March 26 as it was patrolling the waters near the inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea. leaving 46 young sailors dead. After a multinational team of experts combed through the wreckage, and a day before South Korea was to announce the investigation results, the ship was shown to a group of domestic and foreign journalists on Wednesday.
Rear Adm. Park Jeong-soo said the 88-meter-long frigate was torn apart by a massive water pillar created when a heavy acoustic homing torpedo blew up under the ship.