Port Vila, Vanuatu (PressExposure) May 27, 2010 -- Following the report of North Korea sinking a South Korea warship, the United States has confirmed it will hold joint naval exercises with South Korea.
Lee Myung-bak, South Korean President, promised to punish the perpetrators and earlier froze trade with Pyongyang.
When the ship went down, close to the sea border Between South Korea and North, 58 crew survived but 46 sailors died. South Korea said it will refer North Korea to the UN Security Council, in response to the sinking of the Cheonan.
Pyongyang declares it had no involvement in the sinking, calling the investigation a "fabrication" and threatening war if sanctions are imposed. North Korea said it will take revenge for any action taken against it.
It is reported that parts of the torpedo regained from the sea floor had lettering that corresponding to a North Korean design. The experts, who came from Sweden, Australia, England and the United States, affirmed that a torpedo had hit the Cheonan.
President Lee said "Any provocative act by the North and will maintain a principle of proactive deterrence". In a televised address he affirmed that Seoul would no longer tolerate what the North has done.
The action taken by the South is as tough a measure it could take short, of military action.
On Friday Pyongyang's statement made a clear link between the property seizure and what it perceives to be South Korean claims that it was behind the sinking of the Cheonan warship last month. At the centre of the argument are five properties that were built by a South Korean firm, just over the North South border.
North Korea gained a lucrative amount of income from the properties that are under dispute. They include a duty free shop, a fire station, a Red Cross built centre to host family reunions, plus the resort.
All remaining assets will be frozen and South Korean personnel expelled from the resort. A North Korean tourism official said the properties were being confiscated "In compensation for the damage the North side suffered due to the suspension of the tour for a long period".
Following the death of a South Korean woman in July 2008 South Korea suspended its tours to the resort.
The assets would be "handed over to new businessmen according to legal procedures" or send back to state possession said the official.
This is not the first incident on the South Korean warship attack laid at the door of North Korea:
Jan 1967 - South Korean warship attacked near border, 39 sailors killed Jan 1968 - presidential palace in Seoul stormed, 71 killed Oct 1983 - Rangoon hotel used by South Korean president bombed, 21 killed Nov 1987 - South Korean airliner bombed, 115 killed Mar 2010 - Cheonan warship attacked, 46 sailors killed
About South Korea Stands Against North Korea Once Again As Property Is Confiscated For more information: http://www.tropicpost.com/property-confiscated-by-north-korea/