Norks: We Didn't Do It

The North Koreans are claiming they didn't sink the South Korean navy vessel that went down a few weeks ago.

North Korea on Saturday denied that it sank a South Korean naval vessel near their disputed sea border late last month.

There has been growing speculation in the South that the ship had been hit by a North Korean torpedo, killing 46 sailors and raising fears it could trigger conflict on the divided peninsula.

The North's KCNA news agency accused the conservative government in Seoul of trying to foist blame on its reclusive neighbor to boost sagging support ahead of local elections in the South in June.

"The puppet military warmongers, right-wing conservative politicians and the group of other traitors in South Korea are now foolishly seeking to link the accident with the north at any cost," the North's KCNA news agency quoted an unnamed military commentator as saying.

"Another sinister aim sought by the puppet regime in floating the ... story is to justify the persistent and anachronistic policy toward the DPRK (North Korea) and shirk the blame for having driven the inter-Korean relations to the worst crisis."

South Korea, which has already brought some of the wreck to the surface, has said the blast that sank the vessel was caused by an external explosion.

Investigators from several countries, including the United States, are trying to determine what caused the 1,200-tonne Cheonan to split in half and plunge some 45 meters (148 feet).

South Korea's defense minister said this month it may have been hit by a torpedo, immediately thrusting suspicion on the North.

Local media has pinned the blame on North Korea in the absence of any other likely reasons, though official statements have been far more circumspect.

By: Brant