North Korea strikes South Korea ship with torpedo

• Update, 3/28: BBC: "South Korean ship 'split in half'"

Koror, Palau, March 26 (CNA) "President Ma Ying-jeou decided late Friday to activate the country's national security mechanism after

• North Korea reportedly sank a South Korean naval ship hours earlier.

• Ma, on a tour of Taiwan's six allies in the South Pacific, also directed Ministry of National Defense Kao Hua-chu by phone to monitor relevant developments and adopt necessary response measures....

According to South Korea's SBS TV Station, a South Korean naval ship with 104 officers on board was hit by a North Korean torpedo and sank off the country's West Coast, with only 59 people rescued.

• South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has called an emergency meeting to address the issue, the report said." ****

from Focus Taiwan News Channel, "President Ma activates security mechanism over Korea incident" 3/27/10

• Most reports are simply saying the South Korean ship "sank." John Batchelor spoke to several reporters and received other reports on this own on this matter for his show tonight. All say the ship sustained a torpedo blow in the stern section, that the nature of the hit could not be anything but a torpedo.
  
• All agreed it was an act of war. Also, the US has instructed the South Korean government not to acknowledge any aggression. Obama has also told the media to just say the ship sank. I don't have links at the moment, but they will probably emerge soon. ed.