An artificial seismic event that occurred at the time of the sinking of the Cheonan last year indicates that an explosion was the cause of the disaster, a study showed Wednesday.

Hong Tae-kyung, a South Korean professor at Yonsei University, wrote in a recent paper that a tremor of 1.5 magnitude occurred at the time of the ship sinking on March 26 last year in the Yellow Sea. In the paper, published in the journal “Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America,” Hong said the calculated location and time of the seismic event are close to the location and time of the Cheonan sinking, suggesting that the earthquake was associated with the sinking.

Hong also said his study of waves showed that the tremor was an artificial one likely caused by an underwater explosion.

In May last year, a Seoul-led multinational probe concluded that North Korea had torpedoed the warship, killing 46 sailors aboard. North Korea has denied any responsibility. 

(Yonhap News)