Posted on 03/29/2010 5:47:11 AM PDT by jhpigott
They are talking out their asses. They know what happened. They are just not saying what happened.
>>>it seems “quite unlikely” that a Korean war-vintage mine sank a ship here in 2010...
Munitions buried in WW1 battlefields are still detonating from time to time. Torpedoes and shells on sunk atomic bomb test target ships will be dangerous for decades yet to come.
>>>North Korea has probably dropped hundreds of mines to the bottom of the ocean floor.
As did the US Navy and Air Force. The forensics aren’t done yet. This may be enemy action but it also may be friendly fire.
Possibly combat swimmers.
it’s all speculation at this point
but that fact that this story (that basically disappeared over the weekend) is now back in the headlines and the SK Def Minister has brought NK back into the picture after all but ruling NK out . . . interesting
Friendly fire ain't.
good update over at One Free Korea -
Video of the ROKS Cheonan Suggests External Explosion; Plus, John Feffer Already Knows North Korea Didn’t Do It (Updated)
Posted by Joshua Stanton on March 28, 2010 at 11:14 pm · Filed under Useful Idiocy, Cheonan Incident
Submerged in sea water for going on 60 years, and it didn’t leak, or sink, or rust away to nothing? Okay...
They’re spinning it to say.... well it may have been a mine...(thinking a mine is more passive than a direct attack of a torpedo. = they aren’t going to do crap about it.
There are mines that are submerged, anchored to the bottom on a tether. They detect the passing of a ship overhead, detach and float upward, some can even home in on the magnetic signature of the ship. In a lot of ways they're more like an lurking autonomous torpedo, though technically they'd be called a "mine".
There's no reason to think it's some kind of WW2 artifact. The news story I heard on the radio said it was probably recently laid, which would make sense for such a device.
The U.S. has the Mk 60 mine which is basically a torpedo in a capsule. It’s planted in deep water and has as listening device that is programmed to launch when it hears the acoustic signature of an enemy submarine. Sub comes along, torpedo is set loose and boom. I suppose it’s possible that the North Koreans have something similar that took out this South Korean corvette.
I don't think North Korea has any Kilos. They have some old Romeos built by China and the Soviet Union, a couple of Whiskey's, some small domestic built subs, and that's it.
Looks like the seach for any survivors is just about over. Once that is concluded, the pressure will be on for the SK govt to make a formal finding of some sort about the casue.
Divers continue efforts, but no response from sunken S. Korean ship
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) — If any sailors were trapped and still alive inside part of a wrecked S. Korean warship, they were either too weak or hurt to respond to military rescuers’ knocks on the vessel, officials said Monday.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/03/29/31/0301000000AEN20100329008700315F.HTML
I believe the Ming class are Chinese copies of the Soviet Romeos
North Korea WANTS it’s money, and the tragic accidents will continue as long as the dictator is worried about being able to pay off his military goons and spies —it’s that simple.
The SK leadership sees the payoffs as cheaper than reunification while against all odds young SK’ans really do believe the ridiculous brainwash that their Nork brothers to the north just want to sit down and give them a warm hug —many of the girlyBoys want to play famiCon or browse manga all day long...?
Amazed and disgusted.
THE IRISH OF ASIA..? Just wow!
hmmm . . .
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/0...ships_032910w/
Quote:
U.S. ships respond to Korea sinking
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 29, 2010 11:06:51 EDT
Three U.S. warships and one Military Sealift Command salvage ship are on station off the Korean peninsula helping with search and rescue efforst after a South Korean patrol ship sank on Friday.
The Japan-based cruiser Shiloh, destroyers Curtis Wilbur and Lassen and the salvage ship Salvor — carrying a team from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1 — were ordered to help with the search after the South Korean government asked the U.S. for help, a Pentagon official told Navy Times.
Although Shiloh and Curtis Wilbur both carry the Aegis ballistic missile defense system, the official stressed that the American warships were there because South Korea asked for “support for search, recovery and salvage efforts.”
The official asked not to be identified because of the delicacy of the situation involving North and South Korea.
The U.S. ships were already at sea when the South Korean patrol ship Cheonan sank on Friday as part of the international exercise Foal Eagle, the official said. The cause of the sinking is still not clear.
The South Korean news media reported Monday that as many as 22 ships, including the four American vessels, were searching and patrolling the waters above where the 1,200-ton Cheonan lay in two pieces, a bow and stern section. The South Korean navy rescued 58 sailors, including the ship’s captain, after Cheonan sank Friday, but 46 remained missing.
odd time for a trip to China, particularly when this guy hardly ever leaves the country . . .
Seoul watching for signs of N. Korean leader’s possible visit to China
SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) — South Korea is watching closely for signs of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s possible visit to China, an official said Monday, as his recent tour of provincial areas fueled speculation that a Chinese trip may be imminent.
North Korea watchers say this week is the best time if Kim intends to visit the neighboring nation in the near future because Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp legislature is scheduled to convene late next week. Kim’s trip to China, if realized, would be a key indication that the North is ready to return to international nuclear talks.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/03/29/68/0301000000AEN20100329003600315F.HTML
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.