South Korea officially informed Russia that it will submit to the United Nations Security Council a request for a resolution against North Korea over its alleged attack on the Cheonan warship, Yonhap South Korean news agency said.
The announcement was made during talks in Moscow between Russian and South Korean deputy foreign ministers Alexei Borodavkin and Vee Son Nak.
South Korea's 1,200-ton Cheonan corvette sank near the disputed Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea on March 26, causing the loss of 46 lives. An international investigation revealed that North Korea fired a torpedo at the vessel from a submarine, although Pyongyang has denied the allegations.
Russian military experts have inspected the Cheonan wreckage at the Pyeongtaek naval base, where the shipwreck was moved following the incident. The results of the inspection have not yet been announced, but the official said the Russian experts "asked many questions."
"Regardless of the findings of the Russian expert group, the request to UN Security Council will be submitted," Vee said, adding that the UN Security Council should warn North Korea against such provocations.
The agency said the United States and Japan were also planning to ask the Security Council to issue sanctions against North Korea.
Vee Son Nak said before the talks on Wednesday that Seoul was seeking an agreement from Russia to take the Cheonan issue to the UN Security Council.
China has also been invited to send its experts to South Korea to check the results of the investigation. However, Beijing is reluctant to follow Russia's move.
China earlier said it would not take sides in the current Korean crisis and any decision taken by the Security Council should lead to stabilization of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea has frozen economic relations and maritime communications with its northern neighbor, further crippling the North's economy, which is already damaged by UN sanctions intended to force it to quit its nuclear program.
North Korea retaliated by announcing it was cutting all ties with Seoul and allegedly ordered its 1.2-million-man armed forces to get ready for combat. It later announced the withdrawal of all its military safeguards in relations with the South and said it would scrap an agreement between the two countries aimed at preventing clashes off the west coast.
South Korea earlier said it wanted a resolution from the UN Security Council condemning North Korea and demanding an apology. However, press reports have suggested that if China speaks against the request, the UN Security Council will only be able to issue a statement by its chairman.
SEOUL, June 3 (RIA Novosti)
