3 officers dead in explosion at South Korea naval base

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

Three naval officers were killed by a blast at a South Korean naval base Tuesday morning and another was left wounded -- although there was no suspicion of an attack by North Korea following threats of a strike from Pyongyang.

"At around 8.30 a.m. this morning, there was an explosion inside a small submarine that was being repaired at a naval base in Jinhae, 410 kilometers south of Seoul," stated a defense ministry spokesperson quoted by local news agency Yonhap.

The death toll rose from earlier in the day, when one senior officer was initially confirmed dead, with two others receiving medical treatment and a further member of the crew missing after being thrown from the top of the sub into the water.

With an official investigation set to get underway, gas trapped within the vessel is believed to have been behind the explosion.

North Korea has issued a series of threats this year against the South and its ally the United States -- although physical clashes between the Koreas in recent years have been restricted to the border area far north of the accident site.

South Korea is planning to bolster its defenses in the coming months, including by deploying a contentious American anti-missile system known as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense).

Against the backdrop of ongoing tensions, the ministry also confirmed that U.S. Army chief of staff Gen. Mark A. Milley will arrive in the South this Wednesday for a three-day visit.