DPRK says it will probe truth of 'Cheonan' warship case

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Friday that its people and army would probe the truth about the "Cheonan" warship case "to the end."

The DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that this was announced by the DPRK's representative to the third round of the DPRK-US colonel-level military working contact.

According to the KCNA, the DPRK believes that the US proposal for creating a "joint assessment group" and inspecting DPRK's military base at the last round of the contact was "a politically motivated provocation" as it infringes upon the sovereignty and dignity of the DPRK.

The proposal made by the US side was "nothing but a sinister intention to link the "Cheonan" case with the DPRK," it noted.

The US was in collusion with South Korea on the "Cheonan" case and their investigation results were "unilateral and unscientific", KCNA said.

The DPRK warned that its army and people would take stronger counteraction unless the US stops military provocations against it and stops "wrecking peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula."

The KCNA reported that both sides agreed to hold the fourth round of the DPRK-US senior colonel-level military working contact to probe the truth about the "Cheonan" case in Panmunjom around Aug. 9.

The DPRK and the US have held two rounds of DPRK-US colonel-level military working contacts on July 15 and 23rd.

The KCNA said that an agreement was reached in the contact, including the time, venue, members and topics of the DPRK-US general-level talks.

On March 26, South Korea's 1,200-ton frigate Cheonan, with 104 crew members aboard, sank near the maritime border with the DPRK after an unexplained explosion. Only 58 sailors were rescued alive shortly after the sinking.

South Korean investigators released their results of the investigation on May 20, claiming that the "Cheonan" was sunk by a DPRK torpedo.

Meanwhile, a spokesman from the DPRK National Defense Commission issued a statement May 20 rejecting the claim of South Korea and requesting to send an DPRK inspection group to South Korean to verify material evidence.

South Korea, however, rejected that request, the KCNA added.