A punitive shake-up of the military, including the chief of staff, is the latest fallout over the March sinking of the 1,200-ton patrol ship allegedly by a North Korean submarine.

The attack resulted in an explosion that ripped the ship in half and it sank within minutes.

Pyongyang has consistently denied the finding last month by an international investigation team that it sank the Cheonan in the Yellow Sea.

South Korea has asked that the U.N. Security Council review the investigation's results and consider more sanctions against the already economically hard-pressed North Korea.

Within the South Korean military establishment a reshuffle is expected, according to the presidential office.

An investigation begun in early May by the Board of Audit and Inspection reported "a number of problems" in the military's defense system and crisis management, Park Sun-kyu, spokesman at the presidential office, told reporters.

"The defense ministry will look at how far and how heavy the responsibilities lie and recommend the reshuffle," he said.

The auditors named 25 top military officials who probably will face disciplinary action, including retired Gen. Kim Tae-young, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and several generals in charge of naval strategies and intelligence.

Kim, who is also minister of national defense, graduated from the Republic of Korea Military Academy in 1972. Prior to becoming chairman of the joint chiefs in 2008, he was commanding general of the First Republic of Korea Army.

In September 2009 he replaced Lee Sang-hee as minister of National Defense.

The Board of Audit said the navy neglected to take precautionary steps despite having intelligence information of North Korean submarine movements several days before the attack.

Also, the navy was found to be slow to report the sinking to top officials, including the defense minister and joint chiefs of staff.

"The torpedo sinking of the Cheonan revealed a huge hole in terms of national security," said an official at the defense ministry. "A large-scale punitive shake-up is unavoidable to restore people's trust in the military."

A brief statement by the South Korean defense ministry said it "humbly accepts" the findings and will consider lessons the military could learn from the North's attack.

The result of the incident has ruptured inter-Korean relations with both sides cutting off of many diplomatic ties and trade links.

North Korea has defended itself in an letter to the U.N. Security Council describing the incident as a "fabricated scenario" set up by the United States.

Last week, South Korea's army backtracked on a promise made in 2004 not to set up propaganda loudspeakers aimed at North Korea. South Korea confirmed it had set up a series of loudspeakers at 11 points along its border.

Despite the disruption of trade between the two countries still officially at war since a cease-fire ended the Korean conflict in 1953, the South sent a shipment of baby food under a humanitarian plan to several schools in the North.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News