On a chilly spring evening late last March, a South Korean naval ship called the Cheonan was conducting routine exercises in waters just off the coast of a sparsely populated island in what the Koreans call the West Sea (better known as the Yellow Sea), just 10 kilometers from North Korean land. It was just before 9:30, and for most of the ship's 104 crew members, work was done for the day. Some sat in the ship's mess chatting; others were exercising in a small gym. A few had already headed to their bunks for a night's rest. The ship's commanding officer, Choi Won Il, had retired to his cabin for the night and was checking email.
What happened next would shock and anger many South Koreans and roil that country's politics. It would also contribute heavily to a deteriorating diplomatic and security climate not just on the Korean peninsula, but throughout East Asia. Within a few weeks, the South Korean government privately became convinced that a North Korean "midget" submarine fired a torpedo that sunk the Cheonan, killing 46 sailors. They went public with that suspicion on May 20. The South Koreans had dredged up the shattered vessel in sections, and also recovered the remains of what it claimed was a North Korean torpedo.
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