Monday, May 16, 2011

N. Korea Again Denies Sinking S. Korea Warship

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea on May 15 accused South Korea of inventing allegations against it to raise tension and repeated denials of involvement in a deadly ship sinking and a damaging cyber-attack on a bank.
"We strongly urge the group of traitors to own responsibility for faking up the conspiratorial farces doing harm to the fellow countrymen and make an official apology before the nation," the North's top leadership body the National Defense Commission (NDC) said, referring to the South's leaders.
The North has repeatedly denied involvement in the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, which killed 46, near the disputed sea border in March 2010.
Last week the North's defense ministry also denied carrying out a cyber-attack on one of South Korea's largest banks in April, calling the allegations "absurd" and a "farce."
South Korean prosecutors say the North brought down the computer system of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation by hacking into an official's laptop and operating it remotely as a "zombie computer."
The NDC statement via the North's official news agency repeated those denials.
The South, citing a multinational investigation, said a North Korean torpedo sank Cheonan and put what it said was a salvaged portion of the torpedo on display.
The North said its neighbor cooked up the story as part of what it calls a policy of confrontation designed to ensure a continuing U.S. military presence.
The NDC, which is chaired by leader Kim Jong-Il, said the cyber-attack claim followed recriminations between Seoul's presidential palace and the ruling party over a by-election setback.
It said further allegations may be "orchestrated as long as the group of traitors is working hard to stoke confrontation between the North and the South."

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