UN Command, NK discuss ship sinking

By Jung Sung-ki

Staff reporter

Officers from the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) and North Korea met Thursday to discuss matters regarding the holding of generals' talks on the sinking of the South Korean Navy ship Cheonan, defense ministry officials said.

The two sides discussed the timing of the talks and other procedural matters, an official said, asking not to be identified.

No details were made available after the 90-minute meeting held at the truce village of Panmunjeom, the first of its kind since the March 26 sinking of the warship in the West Sea. Col. Kurt Taylor led the UNC delegation, while Col. Pak Ki-yong represented the North.

Since 1998, the UNC and North Korea have held the generals' talks as a channel to ease tensions. If the two sides agree to hold them again, they will be the 17th of their kind, the UNC said.

The UNC has conducted an investigation on whether the sinking violated the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War; the results of which have not been released.

A multinational probe concluded in May that the ship was sunk after being torpedoed by a North Korean submarine, but the North has denied this.

The meeting that was originally scheduled for Tuesday was abruptly called off by the North just before it was set to begin for what it cited as "administrative reasons." Later that day, Pyongyang proposed to reschedule the meeting for Thursday, and the UNC agreed.

Last week, the U.N. Security Council condemned the attack that killed 46 South Korean sailors, but stopped short of explicitly blaming the North. Pyongyang initially rejected the meeting with the UNC, but changed its stance just ahead of the release of the statement by the Security Council.