South Korea accuses North Korea of torpedo attack

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Korea accused the reclusive North on Thursday of torpedoing one of its warships, heightening tensions in the region and drawing a warning from Washington that Pyongyang must face consequences.

Jittery South Korean financial markets and its currency fell as Seoul vowed to take "firm" measures against its neighbor. Nuclear North Korea, furiously denying the charge, warned it was ready for war if fresh sanctions were imposed.

The United States, which has about 28,000 troops stationed in the South following the 1950-53 Korean War, said it stood ready to help South Korea defend itself against any further "acts of aggression.

Seoul has made clear it has no plans for a retaliatory strike but will press the international community to take action, probably more sanctions, against the North.

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President Barack Obama supported South Korea's charges against North Korea this morning, saying the U.S. will help South Korea defend itself against any further "acts of aggression," according to the White House.

South Korea said an international investigation showed that a North Korean submarine fired the torpedo that hit the South Korean ship in March, killing 46 sailors.

But North Korea denied attacking the South Korean ship, threatening that any sanctions or retaliation would be met with "tough measures, including an all-out war," the Yonhap News said today, citing a statement from North Korea's National Defense Commission, MarketWatch reported.

The communist country offered to dispatch an "inspection group" to verify South Korea's claim, the report said.

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[5/26/10] Earlier today, North Korea issued threatening rhetoric to South Korea, a day after South Korea laid out penalties against North Korea for allegedly torpedoing a Southern patrol ship in late March.

The North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity group said on its website that the country’s military was put on alert, warning that it will take military action to defend its western sea border. North Korea said dozens of South Korean warships had crossed into its sovereign territory in the Yellow Sea between May 14 and Monday.

U.S. promised "unequivocal" military support for South Korea and announced new joint U.S.-South Korean naval exercises on Monday.

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[5/26/10] SEOUL, South Korea - Relations on the divided Korean peninsula plunged to their lowest point in a decade Tuesday when the North declared it was cutting all ties to Seoul as punishment for blaming the communists for the sinking of a South Korean warship.

The announcement came a day after South Korea took steps that were seen as among the strongest it could take short of military action. Seoul said it would slash trade with the North and deny permission to its cargo ships to pass through South Korean waters. It also resumed a propaganda offensive — including blaring Western music into the North and dropping leaflets by balloon.

North Korea said it was cutting all ties with the South until President Lee Myung-bak leaves office in early 2013, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch monitored in Seoul late Tuesday.