South Korea has not given up all hope of finding survivors
The South Korean military says it has located the stern of its warship that sank in mysterious circumstances on Friday following an explosion.
The authorities are hoping that some of the 46 crew members still missing may be alive but trapped in underwater air pockets in the wreckage.
Military diving teams were due to begin a search for survivors.
The vessel sank close to the sea border with North Korea; the South says it is open-minded on the cause of the blast.
Rescue officials said on the weekend that the explosion had broken the ship into two parts, which had sunk to the seabed.
Rescue race
The BBC's Korea correspondent, John Sudworth, said navy divers had been hampered by strong currents and murky waters, but had now located the stern, lying on the sea bed.
It is the part of ship that contains the sleeping compartments, so thought to be the most likely location in which survivors might be found.
But it is now a race against time, our correspondent says.
If any of the 46 missing crew members are still alive, calculations suggest that any oxygen in the trapped air will soon run out.
The 1,200-tonne Cheonan naval patrol vessel sank near the disputed maritime border with North Korea but military officials say there is no indication the North was involved.
Our correspondent says that although the two navies have exchanged fire along the sea border in recent years, no unusual military movements were detected on Friday night, leading to speculation that the sinking was due to some kind of accident.
Whatever the cause, as well as a disaster for the South Korean navy, it is moment of terrible, personal tragedy for the families of the missing, their trauma, and sometimes anger, played out on national television as the whole country waits for answers.
Tensions rise
At his latest emergency briefing on the rescue, the South Korean president has urged all available personnel and equipment to be mobilized to search the sunken ship as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, North Korea has accused the South of psychological warfare for allowing journalists to enter the two countries' demilitarised zone, and warned of "unpredictable incidents".
"If the US and the South Korean authorities persist in their wrong acts to misuse the DMZ for the inter-Korean confrontation despite our warnings, these will entail unpredictable incidents including the loss of human lives in this area for which the US side will be wholly to blame," the statement said.
Dramatic warnings from the North are not unusual - on Friday the North had threatened "unprecedented nuclear strikes".
However, they are dissected by Korea-watchers for hints of movement on the primary issue of importance to North Korea's neighbours - it's readiness to re-enter talks about how to end its nuclear programmes.
Separately, North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday castigating the United Nations for its criticism of the North's human rights record.
South Korea recognises the Northern Limit Line, drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command to demarcate the sea border at the end of the Korean War. The line has never been accepted by North Korea.
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