U.S. Experts 'Believe N.Korea Sank the Cheonan'

U.S. experts taking part in the investigation into the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan have done all they can and expect no new discoveries, a South Korean government source said Sunday.

"So far we've been able to verify based on many pieces of evidence that the weapon used to sink the Cheonan was a torpedo, but we still have no conclusive evidence linking it to North Korea," the source said. "But the U.S. experts feel the results so far are enough to confirm that the culprit was North Korea and are satisfied with the better-than-expected results of the probe."

The investigative team apparently concluded that traces of explosives and aluminum debris found in the funnel and split section of the Cheonan are highly likely the same type used by former Eastern-bloc countries as well as North Korea in manufacturing torpedoes, and that the North is the only likely culprit given circumstantial evidence such as the movements of submarines around the time of the sinking.

The U.S. team of investigators, composed of 15 people including submarine experts, apparently agree with that conclusion.