South Korea Says Not Clear North Involved In Ship Sinking

South Korean naval ship Cheonan patrols the sea in an unidentified location in the territorial waters of South Korea in this undated file picture released by local Yonhap news agency in Seoul March 26, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Yonhap/Files

From The Washington Post/Reuters:

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean naval ship was sinking on Friday night with more than 100 people on board, but officials played down earlier suggestions that it may have been the result of an attack by North Korea.

"It is not clear whether North Korea was involved," Presidential Blue House spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye told Reuters.

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

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My comment: What is my take .... this is the worst time possible for Kim Jong-il to start a war with South Korea and its allies. He is more focused on transitioning his power to his son, and to keep the lid on the growing discontent in his country over a growing famine and a lack of the basics to survive. Kim Jong-il also has an upcoming trip to China that will be completely derailed if war breaks out.

In short .... if this was an attack by North Korea on a South Korean warship .... I doubt that it was ordered by him. More likely, the South Korean warship crossed a "tripwire" that guaranteed an automatic North Korean response, or this was an accident on the South Korean warship itself.

But in the event that this was a deliberate and unprovoked attacked by the North on the South .... I am then expecting the worse.