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Gates Ties Cheonan Sinking to N. Korean Succession

   VOA News 13 August 2010

Photo: AP

   U.S.  Defense  Secretary  Robert  Gates (L-R), U.S. Secretary of State
   Hillary  Clinton,  South  Korean  FM  Yu  Myung-hwan  and South Korean
   Defense  Minister  Kim  Tae-young prepare to lay a wreath to honor the
   victims  of  the  sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan at the Korean
   War Memorial Museum in Seoul, 21 Jul 2010

   The  U.S.  defense  secretary says he suspects North Korean succession
   moves  may  have  prompted  the sinking of a South Korean warship, and
   that he fears there may be more "provocations" to come.
   Secretary Robert Gates spoke in San Francisco Thursday night about the
   widely  held  belief  that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is grooming
   his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to take his place.
   But,  Gates said in a speech, he suspects the younger Kim "may have to
   earn his stripes with the North Korean military."
   Gates  also  said  he  worries  that  "this  might  not  be  the  only
   provocation from the North Koreans."
   An  international investigation concluded that the Cheonan was sunk in
   March by a torpedo from a North Korean submarine. Pyongyang denies any
   involvement in the sinking, which killed 46 sailors.
   The United States responded to the sinking by joining South Korea in a
   series  of  joint  naval  maneuvers that have angered China. The first
   took place last month in the Sea of Japan involving the giant aircraft
   carrier USS George Washington and advanced jet fighters.
   The  George  Washington  is to participate in a future exercise in the
   Yellow  Sea between South Korea and China.  A senior Chinese military
   official was quoted Friday as saying the exercise constitutes "a fresh
   provocation" to Beijing.

   Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

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