South Korea officially blames the North for sinking of ship

I hope this doesn't spiral out of control. [Link]

South Korea demanded a “stern” global response to the findings of an international panel that North Korea torpedoed one of its warships, killing 46 sailors.

The Korean won and South Korean stocks fell after North Korea threatened “all-out war” war if the United Nations toughens sanctions that have already crippled a country suffering from crop failure and mass hunger.

Evidence including torpedo parts that matched technical drawings from North Korean military-sales pamphlets provided “conclusive” proof of the country’s role in the sinking, according to the report released today in Seoul. “There is no other plausible explanation,” the group’s statement said.

Tying North Korea to the March 26 attack, the deadliest blamed on the country in more than two decades, may help unify international efforts to isolate Kim Jong Il’s regime. China, which hosted Kim during his first overseas visit in four years earlier this month, will find it harder to defend its political ally, said Park Joon Young, an academic who follows North Korea.

“It will be very difficult for China to resist punishing North Korea with such evidence,” said Park, international relations professor at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul. “China not only has to worry about its relations with North Korea, but also how it will be seen as a member of the global community.”