Washington, May 19: South Korea will formally blame North Korea for launching a torpedo that sank a South Korean warship in March, killing 46 sailors, The Washington Post reported, citing US and East Asian officials.
The officials told the newspaper that an investigation found that the torpedo was identical to a North Korean torpedo that had previously been obtained by South Korea.
The Chenoen sank in the Yellow Sea March 26 after being ripped in two by an explosion that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
Pieces of the warship were put together by investigators from Australia, Britain, Sweden and the United States at the port of Pyongtaek, 65 km west of Seoul.
The Post said South Korea will formally blame North Korea today and ask the UN Security Council to take up the issue, pressing for a tightening of sanctions on Pyongyang.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will also ask the United States to delay for several years a plan to pass wartime operational control over all forces in South Korea from the United States to the South Korean military, the report said.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the report and the US State Department said they would wait for the end of the investigation before weighing in.
—-PTI