North Korea has repeated that it was not responsible for the deadly sinking of a South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, five years ago.
 
North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission said in a statement Tuesday that South Korea’s demand that the North apologize or express regret for the incident before lifting the May 24 sanctions doesn’t make sense as the North had nothing to do with the incident.
 
It said the basis for the May 24 measure was fabricated and that the sanctions must be lifted as soon as possible. It added that calls for dialogue by the South to discuss lifting the sanctions are also “silly.”
 
It noted that if the South sincerely wants to improve inter-Korea relations, it must first lift the sanctions.