SEOUL, May 13 (Reuters) - South Korea came closer on Thursday to blaming North Korea for the sinking of a navy ship in March that killed 46 sailors with reports saying it plans economic measures to punish Pyongyang for a suspected torpedo attack.
South Korea has not officially accused the North of sinking its navy ship but has made little secret of its belief Pyongyang deliberately torpedoed the 1,200 corvette Cheonan near their disputed border in retaliation for a naval clash last year.
"The sinking of the Cheonan showed the cold hard realities of division (on the peninsula) for the world to see," South Korea’s pointman on the North, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said in some of the most pointed public comments Seoul has made in implicating Pyongyang.
Officials have previously said the ship was likely hit by a torpedo but have not mentioned the North as being behind the attack.
South Korea was expected to release its findings into the sinking of the Cheonan as early as next week, officials said.
Seoul has indicated it has no plans to launch a revenge strike, easing concerns among investors over a widening conflict that could cripple the South’s rapidly recovering economy and deal a blow to other export-driven economies in the region.
South Korea, and ally the United States, have said they would put international nuclear disarmament talks with the North on hold until they find a just response to the sinking.
Local news reports said the South plans to ban private trade between the two Koreas on goods including seafood and sand that goes into making cement, which would bring deeper trouble for the North’s failed economy. (For a factbox on punishments, click on)
North Korea has denied any involvement in the ship’s sinking and accused South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s government of trying to use the incident for political gains ahead of local elections in June.
Relations between the two Koreas, still technically at war, have turned increasingly hostile since Lee took office more than two years ago, with the North accusing him of deliberately ruining any chance of peaceful reunification of the peninsula that has been divided for more than half a century. Lee has ended years of generous unconditional aid and announced a plan of massive investment across the border if the North gives up nuclear arms — an offer Pyongyang has rejected.
