South Korea, one of the world's most wired countries, said last month that evidence was overwhelming that the North had torpedoed the corvette Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors.
South Korea's defence ministry invited 23 key bloggers on Saturday to a rare briefing on the findings of the sinking of a warship aimed at dispelling doubts on the government's conclusions that North Korea was behind it.
South Korea, one of the world's most wired countries, said last month that evidence was overwhelming that the North had torpedoed the corvette Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors.
But some Internet users, mainly younger South Koreans sceptical of government pronouncements, dimissed the findings as a conspiracy and made known their views through blogs and the Twitter network.
They shared the view of the North, which denied responsibility for the sinking and accused President Lee Myung-bak of staging the incident to boost his chances in local elections in which the ruling party fared badly this week.
The South's defence ministry responded by stepping in with its own official blogs and Twitter entries.
The ministry could not be reached for comment, but the briefing with the bloggers was confirmed on its Twitter site.
http:twitter.comROK_MND, which has 2,052 followers.
Yonhap news agency said a senior naval officer provided evidence on its findings at the briefing. The ministry will also call in college students, Internet users and Tweeter users next week to provide further explanations about the sinking.
Despite growing tensions with the North, the opposition Democratic Party put on an unexpectedly strong showing in the local election, underscoring public doubts about the way in which the government handled the sinking.
The Internet proved an influential tool to mobilise public opinion quickly when mass protests broke out against president Lee's 2008 decision to allow a resumption of US beef imports.
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