North Korea’s state-run radio station has released a bellicose National Defense Commission (NDC) statement calling the Cheonan incident investigation results a fabrication and saying that the NDC intends to dispatch an investigation team to South Korea.
Chosun Central Broadcast responded immediately to the conclusions of the joint civilian-military investigation team which were released at 10 A.M. (local time). The team concluded that the Cheonan was sunk by an underwater explosion caused by a North Korean torpedo.
In the National Defense Commission statement entitled “We will answer this reckless measure with a war of justice,” the Commission stated, “Since South Korea has announced that the Cheonan sinking was related to us, an inspection team from the National Defense Commission will be dispatched to South Chosun.”
“South Korea will have to show physical evidence to the North Korean inspection team. Among those materials which will be put before our inspection team, there will not be even a trifling suspicion (of North Korean involvement),” it went on.
The NDC also warned of total war to reunify Korea. “In the event of any punishment, retaliatory action or any kind of sanction which damages our national interests,” it asserted, “we will answer with hard-line measures including immediate war. This total war will be a sacred war of the nation, people and state to get rid of the base of followers of the rebel factions which created this fabrication and to build a unified great state.”
“Any trifling incidents in the waters, air or land of our sovereign territory including in the West Sea will be considered the actions of confrontation fanatics and we will cope with that with merciless physical blows and infinite retaliation.”
Meanwhile, in South Korea, the Ministries of Unification and Foreign Affairs and Trade are holding meetings now to discuss follow-up measures according to the results of the investigation.