Reply #86: North Korean general says experts who disagreed with conclusions were expelled from team.

[Prometheus Bound]

By the CNN Wire Staff
May 29, 2010 -- Updated 1547 GMT (2347 HKT)

(CNN) -- A North Korean official has questioned South Korea's credibility for its rhetoric and actions over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March, state-run media in North Korea reported Saturday.

Maj. Gen. Pak Rim Su lashed out against the South for saying the North Koreans sank the Cheonan warship, a claim fiercely denied by his communist government. He said the evidence produced by South Korea to make its claim has been fabricated.

.......He said that the involvement of the United States shows that the probe couldn't be objective.

Pak said people who disagreed with the investigators' assertions were expelled from the investigation team. He said the changes in investigation results as the case moved forward cast suspicion on the review, according to the state-run news agency's account.

For example, the North Koreans say, the warship captain said at first there wasn't outside provocation but later said there was. And they say the military said at first there were no grounds to say it was an attack by the North but later changed that viewpoint.

The North Koreans say the South is attempting to undermine efforts to promote reconciliation and North Korea's progress. They argue that the claim has served to rally conservative forces in South Korea and help them politically in upcoming elections.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/29/north.korea.warship/?hpt=T2