Evidence of NK's Cheonan attack damaged
By Jun Ji-hye
A handwritten “number one” in Korean script is clearly visible on the propeller of a North Korean torpedo in the above photo taken on May 15, 2010, about two months after the North sank a South Korean warship, Cheonan. But it can be seen that the script has almost been erased in the photo below, taken Wednesday, due to corrosion of the propeller. / Yonhap
A propeller of a North Korean torpedo, which has been regarded as conclusive evidence proving the North’s responsibility for the deadly attack on the ROKS Cheonan in 2010 is corroding rapidly without proper preservation measures.
Officials said Wednesday the propeller, currently on display at a Ministry of National Defense building, has corroded badly over the past five years. What was handwritten on the propeller, apparently by a North Korean solider, is almost erased and can be hardly recognized.
The handwriting of “number one” in Korean was cited as key evidence showing that the North was responsible for the sinking of the 1,200-ton Cheonan in the West Sea in March 2010, killing 46 South Korean sailors.
Criticism against the ministry’s poor management of the propeller comes as the North still denies responsibility for the attack, calling Seoul’s blaming of Pyongyang an “outright fabrication.”
The South Korean military found the propeller on the sea floor near where the Cheonan sank, amid mounting suspicions at the time regarding the cause of the vessel’s sinking, including one theory that the ship was grounded on rocks off the coast.
The inscription on the propeller was the same style of marking found on another North Korean torpedo lost during a military exercise, which had been secured by the South Korean military in 2003.
The ministry explained that it has not been able to carry out preservation treatments for the propeller as the trial related to the incident is ongoing. It said any treatment could have caused controversy over suspected attempts to destroy evidence.
In August 2010, the prosecution indicted Shin Sang-chul, who was a member of a private-public joint team that investigated the sinking of the Cheonan, for libel against Navy officers as he allegedly spread false information regarding the incident, saying “the ship sank after crashing into a suspected U.S. vessel.”
The ministry said, “We will come up with an effective measure to preserve the propeller through consultation with the prosecution, as prosecutors completed an on-the-spot investigation in October.”
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