A North Korean defector has claimed that young leader Kim Jong-un ordered the attack on the South Korean warship, Cheonanham, which was sunk in the West Sea on March 26, 2010, killing 40 sailors and leaving six others missing.

The Daily NK, an online news outlet about issues involving North Korea, reported Tuesday that Choi Young-pil, who defected to the South last May, said the attack was made by the North in retaliation for its defeat in the inter-Korean marine skirmish in the West Sea in November, 2009.

Choi told the website that he heard about “the order of Kim Jong-un” from a navy officer who was released from the navy unit which fought against its South Korean counterpart in the Daecheong skirmish at that time
This is the first time that the South has heard that North Korea was involved in the attack in a testimony a North Korean defector has ever made
“All the injured sailors should be returned to the same unit, after being cured completely at any cost at No. 11 Hospital (People’s Army Hospital in Pyongyang). I’ll be determined to wage a revenge war with them,” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying, when the North was severely damaged by the South in the Daecheong naval war at that time.

“North Korean residents have never suspected about the attack made by North Korea’s People’s Army as North Koreans said, ‘We defeated them’ at that time,” Choi told the web paper.

In particular, “Even now, North Korean ranking officials take considerable pride that the North submarine sank the South Korean warship,” Choi added.

Choi also said, “The organization secretary of Musan County chapter of the Communist Party said boastfully at a running event, ‘A hero has come home in Musan now on special leave for his contribution to the sinking of the South Korean warship.’”
The secretary Kim Gwang hosted a party for the marathoner, identified by his family name, Sin, who won the event at the Mangyeong Athletes Contest in April, 2010, and the soliders.

“It’s a great glory for our county to have two heroes produced like this,” said secretary Kim at the party. “One is a submarine sailor who sank a South Korean warship and another is a marathon winner.”

North Korea’s party staff members said in political lectures to residents when the South Korean warship was sunk, “Our navy took a clean revenge on the enemy
But the North refuted the outcome of the inspection into sunk warship by a joint investigation team of the Ministry of National Defense that it was sunk in an attack of a torpedo by the North Korea’s submarine as a “Super Plot.”

On March 26, the second anniversary of the tragic attack of, North Korea has insisted that “We have no relations with the sinking of the Cheonan.”