North Korea warns UN not to debate sinking of South Korean vessel

Jun 9, 2010, 16:20 GMT

Seoul - North Korea has warned the United Nations Security Council of serious consequences if it takes up a multinational investigation which concluded that one of its torpedoes sank a South Korean navy vessel, state media reported Wednesday.

'Nobody would dare to imagine how serious ... consequences related to peace and safety on the Korean peninsula would be,' North Korea's permanent UN representative, Sin Son Ho, was quoted as saying.

In a letter to the UN body, the reclusive communist regime also again rejected the conclusion that it was involved in the incident.

South Korea has filed a complaint to the Security Council accusing the North of sinking its vessel Cheonan on March 26, causing the deaths of 46 sailors. It has urged the council to take an official position on the incident.

The letter from North Korea's ambassador to the UN accused the United States of conspiring with South Korea against the North, so it can achieve political and military goals.

It also called on the Security Council to help convince South Korea and the US to agree to a North Korean demand for its own investigators to have access to the multinational investigation.

Pyongyang has repeatedly denied any involvement and threatened war against the South if any punitive measures are taken. It has also warned of an 'all out war' this summer if its dispute with Seoul were to become an international issue.