Before presiding over a meeting of senior secretaries this morning, President Lee was briefed about the progress of the search for the sunken navy ship, Cheonan, at the National Crisis Situation Center in Cheong Wa Dae from 7:40 a.m. for about 20 minutes.

President Lee was told that the location of the ship wreckage had been detected by the sonar equipment of a mine warfare ship in waters near the incident scene. He said, “As the location of the stern of ship in which missing crewmen are presumed to be trapped has been spotted, all available personnel and equipment must be mobilized to search it as rapidly as possible. In addition, the cause of the incident has to be thoroughly probed, thereby leaving no room for any suspicion.”

The President urged the military authorities “to fully cooperate with non-military divers who are assisting the search efforts on the scene.” He also said, “They need to pay keen attention to guaranteeing the divers’ safety.”