South Korea close to blaming North Korea for sinking of warship

South Korea is very close to blaming the NorKos for the sinking the South Korean warship Cheonan

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has come closer to blaming the North for torpedoing one of its warships in March in an attack that killed 46 of its sailors. South Korea has indicated it would not launch a revenge strike, fearing it could spark a widening conflict that cripples its quickly recovering economy.

The following are some options Seoul has been considering to punish Pyongyang, according to officials and media reports:

MILITARY MEASURES

* Mine a contested Yellow Sea border near where its ship was attacked to bottle up North Korea's submarines.

* Increase patrols near naval borders. Hunt the North's submarines. Forgo warning shots and open fire at the North's vessels if they breach the sea border.

* Enhance naval capabilities over the next few years to better hunt and destroy the North's ships and submarines, further increasing its technological superiority.

* Launch large-scale military training exercises on its side of the land and sea border to intimidate its neighbour.

ECONOMIC MEASURES

* Extend the suspension of aid once worth more than 5 percent of North's estimated $17 billion a year economy.

* End imports from the North of sand used to make concrete that local media said earned it about $70 million through 2008.

* Ban the imports of fisheries products that were worth about 173 billion won last year.

* Make it more difficult for the North's commercial shipping to travel in waters near the South.

* A joint factory park the two run in the North Korean border city of Kaesong would likely be spared for now because the South feels its closure would hurt the more than 100 small to medium sized South Korean companies operating there.

DIPLOMATIC MEASURES

* Take the case to the U.N. Security Council to seek new sanctions or a tightening of existing ones.
* Seek help from its U.S. ally to clamp down even harder on the North's meagre international finances.

* Delay international nuclear disarmament talks where the North can win much needed aid for reducing security threats.

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(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)