On March 26, the South Korean corvette Cheonan was sunk in the Yellow Sea with the loss of 46 lives. Six weeks later, an investigation conducted by South Korean, Australian, Swedish, Canadian, British and American experts determined that the warship had been hit by a North Korean torpedo, parts of which were found near the wreck. Both Seoul and Washington promised there would be a serious response to the attack. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton proclaimed that there "will not be and cannot be business as usual." Yet all the allies did was refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council.
On July 9, the Security Council issued a weak statement that fudged responsibility for the attack and opposed any retaliation. The document was less than a formal resolution and was adopted without a vote. It noted the international investigation, "which concluded that the DPRK was responsible for sinking the Cheonan" and said "the Security Council expresses its deep concern." But then the document noted that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had "stated that it had nothing to do with the incident. Therefore, the Security Council condemns the attack that led to the sinking of the Cheonan" without directly choosing which side to believe.
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