SEOUL, South Korea — Russian experts arrived in Seoul on Monday to review findings of an investigation that blamed North Korea for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, while thousands of troops practiced fending off an attack from the North near the rivals' tense border.
The South is trying to build support for U.N. action against the North. If Russia endorses the multinational probe's conclusions, the move could convince China and other major powers to back possible sanctions against Pyongyang for the attack on the Cheonan warship, which killed 46 sailors two months ago.
The South Koreans shared the investigation's findings with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last weekend before a summit, but Beijing has yet to blame North Korea or support any potential U.N. action against its longtime ally.
Wen is now in Japan, where he was expected to face more pressure to censure North Korea. On Monday, he met with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who said Tokyo strongly supports Seoul's plans to bring North Korea before the U.N. Security Council for sanctions or condemnation.
Amid the simmering tensions, a few thousand South Korean soldiers joined an exercise in building and defending a pontoon bridge near the border with North Korea. About 50 tanks and several helicopters were mobilized for the drill.
