N Korea rejects evidence over sinking of South ship

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SEOUL, May 29 (AFP): North Korea has flatly rejected evidence showing it torpedoed a South Korean warship with the loss of 46 lives, saying it does not even own a midget submarine allegedly used for the March attack.
The North's powerful National Defence Commission (NDC), chaired by leader Kim Jong-Il, held a rare press conference on Friday and denied Pyongyang's involvement, according to official North Korean media.
Major General Pak Rim Su, director of the policy department of the NDC, said the North does not have a 130-tonne "Yeono (salmon)-class" submarine, which the South says torpedoed its 1,200-ton corvette, the Cheonan, in the Yellow Sea.
"We don't have anything like a 130-tonne Yeono-class submersible," Pak was quoted by Pyongyang's Chungang TV as telling reporters.
A multinational investigation led by Seoul concluded earlier this month that the March 26 sinking was caused by a torpedo attack from the North.
South Korean investigators said a Yeono class midget submarine had intruded into South Korean waters via international waters.
Meanwhile, China came under intensified pressure from South Korea and Japan Saturday to join global efforts to punish North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
President Lee Myung-Bak turned the heat up on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at a three-way summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in South Korea, as the leaders discussed the sinking, which claimed 46 lives.