A spokesman with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Friday issued a statement to oppose referral of the investigation results of the Cheonan case to United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the official news agency KCNA reported.
According to the KCNA, the spokesman criticized U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's declaration of support to the investigation results on her recent visit to Asia, in which she said the DPRK was the chief criminal for the sinking of the Cheonan warship.
It was "a lie that stands facts on their heads", the spokesman charged.
The spokesman said the U.S was advocating referral of the investigation results to the UNSC. If the case was submitted to the UNSC, the DPRK would consider it as a violation of the dignity and sovereignty of the country, he said.
The 1,200-ton Cheonan with 104 crew members onboard sank on March 26 near the maritime border with the DPRK after an unexplained explosion. Only 58 sailors were rescued alive shortly after the sinking. The South Korean investigators issued the results of the investigation on May 20 that the Cheonan was sunken by a torpedo of the DPRK.
A spokesman for the DPRK National Defence Commission issued a statement on May 20 to reject the claim of the south and indicated the DPRK's readiness to send an inspection group to the south to verify material evidence. However, the south rejected the request.