This fact was disclosed by the then sound-detector of the warship as a witness at the trial held at the Seoul Central District Court on Monday.

He said that he had been in the sound-detecting room prior to the sinking of the warship and heard no sound until its sinking.

The sonar of the warship was capable of detecting not only submarines but also torpedoes, he claimed, adding that he felt nothing odd till the moment of the accident.

In this regard, a lawyer said that the sound of a torpedo propeller would be heard louder in the water and the speed of sound was much faster. It is hardly understandable in the light of common sense that the sonar failed to detect the torpedo approaching the warship, the lawyer held.

At the trial, the former section chief of guard of the Agency of Maritime Police, who commanded the operation to salvage the sunken ship, testified to the fact that he was told by the navy before any others that it hit a rock.

The south Korean puppet authorities have so far claimed that "Cheonan" was sunk by the torpedo attack of the north. They have desperately kicked up an anti-DPRK confrontation racket, bringing the north-south relations to a total collapse under this pretext.

The above-said testimonies confirmed that the sonar found no sign of torpedo attack and the military authorities had known that it was an accident caused by stranding.

The south Korean authorities would be well advised to clearly know that the anti-DPRK confrontation row hyped by them on the basis of the fiction about the torpedo attack would only add to their crimes against the nation.