South Korean navy ship sinks, North link played down

Sounds a little Fishy , how else would an "Unidentified object" Make a hole in the side of a ship ?
No conspiracy theory here , Move along and go eat your fruity pebbles !


(Reuters) - A South Korean naval ship sank near the disputed maritime border with North Korea, killing some of the more than 100 crew on board, but officials played down suggestions that it may have been attacked by the North.

A defense ministry official later said that the unidentified object the vessel had fired at on Friday night near the western sea border that divides the two Koreas may well have been a flock of birds.

Initial fears that North Korea might be to blame caused ripples on Wall Street, where share prices dipped partly on geopolitical concerns, and the South Korean won dropped against the dollar.

"It is premature to discuss the cause of this sinking," presidential Blue House spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye told Reuters early on Saturday. "It is not clear whether North Korea was involved."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff also said it could not conclude that the reclusive North was behind the attack.

Yonhap news agency quoted a presidential official as saying satellite pictures and other information showed no sign of the North Korean military in the area at the time of the sinking.

The defense ministry said 58 of the 104 on board had been rescued and Yonhap quoted navy officials as saying several had died.

"An unidentified reason caused a hole in the ship, which led to its sinking. Currently 58 have been rescued out of the total 104 on board. Rescue efforts are under way," the ministry said.

"The ship fired a warning shot at an unidentified object, and the object was later suspected to have been a flock of birds. But we are checking."

Earlier, South Korean media had quoted officials as saying the North could have torpedoed the ship.