On March 26, 2010, a North Korean submarine in the Yellow Sea fired a torpedo at the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan, according to the subsequent findings of an international investigation. The ship sank and 46 sailors died.
"The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine,” a report concluded. “There is no other plausible explanation.”
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak initially promised “resolute countermeasures” to make North Korea “admit its wrongdoings,” but the North has continued to deny responsibility, even offering to send its own investigators to South Korea to examine the evidence.
The United States subsequently held a series of naval exercises with South Korea, despite protests from China, which did not acknowledge the North’s responsibility in the attack on the Cheonan. The exercise was aimed at showing muscle to North Korea, the Monitor reported.
