Put the truth on display
Published: 27 May. 2010, 20:42
The train carrying the truth about the Cheonan also arrived, albeit slowly. The stern of the ship arrived in 20 days, the bow in 29 days and the propeller of the North Korean torpedo in 50 days. Material evidence is more powerful than anything else. After seeing the evidence, the whole world blames North Korea. Even China and Russia - traditional allies of the North - have started to cast suspicion on their friend. Despite threats to wage an all-out war, the North cannot escape from the eyes of the world.
The other day we had a chance to see the salvaged Cheonan lying at the naval base in Pyeongtaek. The central part of the ship looked like the intestine of a zebra bitten by lion. If you examine the inside of the ship, the truth is evident. Immediately you will see the absurdity of some arguments that the ship sank because it hit a rock or from an internal explosion.
The first evidence we saw was the sonar, which was at the bottom of the ship and still intact. If the ship had run aground, the sonar would have been destroyed. Some cite a bent screw as evidence of running aground. But the response by the Swedish firm that made the screw is telling: The screw was bent because an explosion forced the power transfer system to pull on the propulsion shaft, forcing the screw to bend.
If a U.S. warship had hit the ship, as one rumor goes, its steel frame and plates should all have been bent horizontally. But the main frame of the ship is warped upward, and the 1.5-centimeter-thick (.59-inch-thick) steel plates and other reinforcement material are all curved from the bottom of the port bow to the upside of the starboard. If the sinking had been caused by an internal explosion, the inside of the ship should look like a fire scene. But no soot was found and no electric wire was burned. The chimney of the ship is also covered with a thick layer of oxidized aluminum. If the ship ran aground or sank due to its old age, where did the aluminum come from and why did the central part of the ship disappear?
The body of the ship and the propeller of the torpedo say it all. Yet there are people who still deny the arrival of the train. A member of the investigation team that the opposition Democratic Party recommended saw evidence with his own eyes and was briefed about what happened to the ship by experts. Still, he claims that the ship ran aground first and then was hit by a U.S. ship in the area. If any countries, including China or Russia, want to see the truth, they can see the ship with their own eyes. Then, how about allowing foreign visitors from around the world to see the symbolic evidence of a ruptured peace?
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)