SUNKEN CHEONAN NAVY SHIP GETS REBORN

[Anchor Lead]

The Cheonan Navy corvette which sank in a North Korean torpedo attack 11 years ago has been reborn. South Korea has launched a new frigate equipped with anti-submarine capabilities named after the sunken warship. Bereaved families of the 2010 incident say it feels like their lost children have returned. However former Cheonan captain Choi Won-il and surviving crew members did not attend the launch ceremony in protest of the government failing to address conspiracy theories over the Cheonan attack.

[Pkg]

The Cheonan naval vessel went down in a torpedo attack carried out by North Korea in March 2010. 46 sailors were killed. Eleven years have passed. The 12-hundred ton patrol corvette is reborn into a 2,800-ton cutting edge frigate 122 meters long and 14 meters wide.

[Soundbite] Suh Wook(Minister of National Defense) : "By reviving the Cheonan, the country has kept its promise to forever remember the heroes’ sacrifices."

Most importantly, its anti-submarine capabilities have been bolstered. The vessel is armed with the long-range anti-submarine guided missile Red Shark and state-of-the-art detection equipment.

[Soundbite] Lee Dong-seok(Defense Acquisition Program Administration) : "A hybrid system combining a propulsion motor and gas turbine has reduced underwater radiated noise level to greatly enhance anti-sub capabilities."

Until now, frigates were named after a location or place, but bereaved families of the 2010 attack have asked for the name Cheonan to be used again.

[Soundbite] Lee Seong-woo(Family representative of Cheonan victims) : "I believe the resurrection signifies our children’s return. Bereaved families hope the new Cheonan will lead efforts to defend the Northern Limit Line border."

Former captain of the sunken vessel Choi Won-il and surviving crew did not attend the launch ceremony. They are protesting a recent decision by the Korea Communications Standards Commission to not take issue with videos online that are raising conspiracy theories about why the Cheonan sank. Family representatives plan to request, via the defense ministry, that the commission redeliberate the case. Meanwhile Choi instead visited the Navy Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek where the salvaged vessel is on display to remember the fallen crew. The resurrected Cheonan will be handed to the Navy in 2023 to begin its mission of safeguarding the West Sea.