US and North Korean military colonels will be meeting tomorrow in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) village of Panmunjom, a “colonel-level” meeting negotiated by the United Nations to discuss the sinking of the Cheonan.
The Cheonan, a South Korean warship, was sunk in the waters along the ill-defined maritime border between the two nations in March. South Korean officials at the time insisted it couldn’t possibly have been a North Korean attack.
Yet in April, officials decided it was exactly that, and the US quickly backed the South Korean claim and demanded UN action against North Korea to punish them.
North Korea has denied any role in the sinking of the ship and has claimed South Korea faked the evidence against it. Since the claim tensions have risen and the two sides have ended a naval safeguards deal designed to prevent an accidental clash.