North Korea, UN officers to meet over ship sinking

North Korean and US-led United Nations Command officers overseeing the Korean War truce will meet on Tuesday in the first meeting involving Pyongyang to discuss the sinking of a South Korean warship, an official said.                                           

A team of investigators blamed the North for launching a torpedo attack on the South Korean corvette Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors.                                           

The UN Security Council in a statement on Friday condemned the attack but did not explicitly blame the North.                                   

North Korea denies it was involved in the sinking and has accused the South of masterminding a fabrication for political gain.                                           

North Korea first rejected the call by the UN Command to meet and discuss any violation of the armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean War. It later changed its position and said it would accept such a meeting, after Seoul rejected its proposal to send a military team to inspect the sunken ship.                                           

The meeting will take place at the Panmunjom truce village that straddles the military border between the two Koreas at 0100 GMT, Tuesday, the UN Command said.