By Kang Hyun-kyung, Kim Young-jin
Staff reporters
The government expressed regret Monday over a progressive civic group's sending of a letter to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) president raising doubts over the multinational investigation team's probe into the sinking of the warship Cheonan in March.
The letter, penned by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), is seen as potentially undermining of the investigation findings, and drew the ire of government officials.
The PSPD e-mailed the report to Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, who holds the UNSC presidency for June, requesting he circulate it to the 15 members. It also sent the report to 15 UNSC members via e-mail.
Kim Young-sun, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said it was regrettable to hear that the NGO had sent the letter to the UNSC and its members at a time when the nation is facing a grave national security situation.
He told reporters that there is no doubt that the multinational team's investigation results are "impartial, scientific, transparent and thorough."
"We do not consider any countermeasures against the NGO. And I am not in a position to comment on the group's measure," Kim said.
"As South Korean investigators were scheduled to brief the UNSC members on the incident at the U.N. headquarters, we will keep trying to make an effective presentation."
In its report, the NGO raised eight questions regarding the international investigation team's findings over the cause of the sinking of the Cheonan in the West Sea on March 26 that killed 46 sailors.
The team, including experts from the United States, Britain, Australia and Sweden, concluded a North Korean submarine torpedoed the 1,200-ton warship.
In the report, the NGO said it was not certain if a torpedo attack caused the warship to sink, claiming "no severe injuries evident of a torpedo explosion were found on the bodies of survivors and deceased soldiers."
South and North Korea, meanwhile, were each expected to address the UNSC on Monday in New York over the ship sinking.
The North has repeatedly denied its involvement in the incident.
Last month, a Seoul-led multinational probe announced a North Korean submarine had torpedoed the vessel near the disputed inter-Korean maritime border, presenting hard evidence including remnants of the weapon.
Tensions have flared since, with Seoul banning North Korean commercial ships from entering South Korean waters and halting nearly all trade and aid to the impoverished state. It has also vigorously lobbied the international community to censure Pyongyang through the UNSC.
The North has threatened "all-out" war if sanctioned for the incident, and to blow up South Korean loudspeakers at the border if the South uses them to broadcast anti-Pyongyang propaganda into its territory.
South Korean officials have said they are not seeking new U.N. sanctions against the North but, instead, a stern condemnation from the UNSC.
Seoul's push for U.N. action depends largely on how China and Russia, veto-wielding members of the council with ties to the North, position themselves on the matter. Both have fallen short of supporting the findings of the Seoul-led probe.
Pyongyang is already under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
A recent U.N. report, however, has revealed that over 100 countries are not in full compliance with the related resolutions, igniting speculation that Pyongyang is not feeling the full brunt of the measures.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.