A senior South Korean official called on North Korea on Friday to apologize for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship and punish those involved in it, as the U.N. Security Council drew close to a statement condemning the attack that caused the tragedy.
"North Korea must apologize for the deaths of 46 of our young men" and punish troops involved in the sinking that took place in the Yellow Sea on March 26, Vice Unification Minister Um Jong-sik said in a speech to a group of former ministry officials.
The 15-member Security Council agreed earlier on a draft statement condemning the attack that caused the 1,200-ton Cheonan to sink, but came
short of explicitly blaming North Korea.
The North, which denies its role in the sinking, has threatened war should the Council blame the communist state for it.
Um said his government is determined to hold North Korea accountable for the sinking even if that would cause their relations to deteriorate
temporarily.
"Only when we undergo this kind of process can we take a step forward in sound inter-Korean relations," he said.
Relations between the Koreas are already at one of the worst points in decades. Since a multinational probe found Pyongyang responsible for the sinking, South Korea has cut off cross-border trade and exchanges almost entirely.
But the South and the United States have refrained from blaming North Korean leader Kim Jong-il directly for the sinking in a move that analysts said may open up room for an apology by Pyongyang.