The Unification Ministry has expressed deep regret over North Korea denouncing the speech that President Park Geun-hye delivered last Thursday on the fifth anniversary of the sinking of the South Korean naval vessel, Cheonan.
 
The ministry’s spokesman, Lim Byung-chul, told reporters on Monday that the sinking of the Cheonan vessel was clearly an armed provocation that violated international laws, the Korean Armistice Agreement and the inter-Korean Basic Agreement. He added that the North was found to be responsible for the 2010 sinking of the naval corvette based on findings by an international investigative team.

Lim also said that the May 24 sanctions were devised to get the North to assume responsibility for the Cheonan incident and reiterated that in order for the sanctions to be removed, the North must take responsible steps that the South Korean people can understand.
 
Lim's comments came after the North’s Korean Central News Agency quoted the North's National Defense Commission on Sunday as saying that Park is using the Cheonan incident to instigate conflict among Koreans.