North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of planning and executing the deadly sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in 2010.
 
In a statement, the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People’s Army claimed that the U.S. engineered the sinking which killed 46 South Korean Navy sailors, and then fabricated it as a torpedo attack by the North.
 
Ahead of the fifth anniversary of the sinking on Thursday, the North’s statement claimed that the U.S. was under pressure at the time to move out of the region amid talks of handing over Washington’s wartime control to Seoul. It said the U.S. orchestrated the incident and blamed it on North Korea to heighten security concerns in the region.
 
The North said the delayed handover of wartime control, the strengthened South Korea-U.S. military drills and the so-called May 24 sanctions were all influenced by the orchestration of the Cheonan sinking.
 
The North also blamed the U.S. for inciting the shelling of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in November 2010, saying the bombardment was a response to the growing U.S. threat in the region due to its Cheonan fabrication. The shelling killed two South Korean soldiers and two citizens.