A small South Korean navy vessel sank overnight in bad weather but the accident was not linked to a possible intrusion by North Korean submarines, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. One sailor was rescued but the other four crew members were missing from the training ship that sank about 40 km (20 miles) off the port city of Ulsan on the south coast of South Korea, ministry spokesman Nam Dae-yeon told reporters. The vessel had been returning to port after an overnight exercise. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.
Asked whether there was any link between the loss of the South Korean vessel and reported North Korean submarine activity, he said: "That has nothing to do with the sunken ship. Even the locations are far apart." Earlier, Yonhap news agency reported the US military had advised South Korea about two suspected North Korean submarines operating in South Korean waters on Monday. "We have not found or detected anything," Nam said.
He said the military was carrying out a routine additional search, but declined to give any details. |