"The possibility of an external explosion is far higher than that of an internal explosion," Yoon Duk-Yong, the co-head of a state investigation team, said at a televised news conference.

A total of 46 sailors lost their lives in the March 26 disaster, the deadliest peacetime naval tragedy for South Korea. Seoul has not so far accused Pyongyang of involvement but the incident has raised cross-border tensions.

Yoon, an independent scientist on the military-civilian investigation team, said his assessment was based on an initial on-site probe launched Thursday after the battered stern of the sunken 1,200-tonne corvette was recovered.

Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young, who has raised the possibility that a mine or torpedo may have hit the Cheonan, said the government regards the sinking as "a grave national security incident".

A giant floating crane on Thursday lifted the stern section of the Cheonan which was split in two in the Yellow Sea last month by what survivors described as a big external explosion.

South Korea has launched an international investigation into the disaster to ensure the eventual findings cannot be disputed.

Military officials said 36 bodies of men mostly in their 20s had been found from the salvaged stern, after two bodies were recovered earlier in the month. A total of 58 crewmen were rescued soon after the sinking.

Eight sailors are still missing but rescuers called off their search at the request of relatives.

Yoon said 38 civilian and military investigators including two US experts had examined the stern of the Cheonan.

"Judging from damage to the ship's external wall, we believe the probability of an internal explosion is very low," he said.

The chances of metal fatigue or an underwater obstacle were also slim, he said, backing accounts from survivors that a strong external blast tore the ship apart.

Defence minister Kim called for patience but warned that said the military would take "stern" action against whoever is found to be responsible.

Yoon, however, cautioned that the investigation was incomplete.

The probe, which could take weeks, involves more than 120 local experts, eight Americans and three Australians, the defence ministry said. Four experts from Sweden were to arrive later.

The bow section of the ship is expected to be raised in about 10 days.

"The remaining task is to find the cause of the incident through a scientific and fair probe," Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan said Friday.

The disputed Yellow Sea border was the scene of deadly naval clashes between the North and South in 1999 and 2002 and of a firefight last November that left a North Korean patrol boat in flames.

Tensions are high after the North scrapped a tourism deal with the South and threatened to restrict border crossings, and with six-party talks talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons frozen for a year.

Pyongyang says it will not return to dialogue until UN sanctions are lifted and until the United States commits to holding talks on a formal peace treaty.

The North on Tuesday expelled staff and sealed South Korean-owned buildings at the Mount Kumgang resort in protest at Seoul's refusal to restart lucrative tours there.

South Korea suspended the programme in July 2008 after North Korean soldiers shot dead a Seoul housewife who strayed into a military zone.

The sanctions-hit North has been pressing the South in vain to restart the tours, which once earned it tens of millions of dollars a year.

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