Clamshell covered in white substance discovered on Cheonan torpedo fragment

Posted on : 2010-11-05 11:15 KST Modified on : 2010-11-05 11:15 KST
The white substance appeared to be oxidized aluminum, and the shell was later confirmed and removed by the Defense Ministry
 a clamshell covered in white substance attached to the inside of the hole
a clamshell covered in white substance attached to the inside of the hole

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, Staff Writer

  

A journalist discovered a clamshell with white substance inside the propulsion system of the torpedo presented by the Joint Investigation Group as the decisive evidence in the sinking of the Cheonan.

The “Three Press Groups’ Verification Committee of the Results of the Cheonan Investigation,” composed of the Journalists’ Association of Korea, PD Assocation of Korea and National Union of Media Workers, said Wednesday that inside the second propeller in the back of the propulsion system, they found a piece of a bivalve shell, a clamshell. At the edge of the clamshell was white, flower-shaped substance, and the groups say this clamshell is strong evidence of the fact that the torpedo had nothing to do with an attack on the Cheonan. The committee claimed the white substance showed that the clam had been inside the propulsion system before excreting the substance. Prior to this, a blogger by the nickname of “Autumn Night” posted on the political webzine Surprise on Monday a zoomed-in photo and analysis of the clamshell, which was inside one of six 2cm holes in the central part of the screw.

After the issue was raised, the Defense Ministry removed the clam from the torpedo propulsion system, which was on display at the War Memorial of Korea, and released the findings of its analysis on Thursday. In a press release, the ministry said the substance inside the hole in the screw was not a living shell but a broken clamshell (2.5cm x 2.5cm). It said it appeared the broken shell was loosely wedged into the hole, and they judged the shell entered the hole in the propulsion of the torpedo propulsion system after the explosion as tides swept it from the sea floor.

The ministry claimed the white substance could have entered the hole at the same time as the clamshell, or that some of the large amounts of substance attached around the screw moved into the hole afterwards by way of the tides.

In response, the Three Press Groups’ Verification Committee of the Results of the Cheonan Investigation slammed the Defense Ministry for unilaterally removing the clam and destroying the white substance, ignoring the demands of evidence preservation.

  

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

 

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