United Nations ( CNN ) -- The United Nations formally condemned Friday the sinking of a South Korean warship in March but did not specifically name North Korea , which a multinational probe found culpable in the incident . `` The Security Council deplores the attack , '' the 15-member council said in what is known as a presidential statement . It urged that `` appropriate and peaceful measures be taken against those responsible for the incident aimed at the peaceful settlement of the issue . '' It also called for full adherence to the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement , which ended hostilities in the Korean war . Despite the absence of North Korea 's name in the condemnation , U.S . Ambassador Susan Rice said the message to the communist nation is `` unmistakable . '' `` This statement is notable and it is clear , '' Rice said after its approval at a Friday morning session . `` It uses the term 'attack ' repeatedly , which you do n't have to be a scholar of the English language to understand is not a neutral term . '' South Korea welcomed the statement . `` I think it 's crystal clear that [ the ] Security Council made it clear that North Korea [ is ] to be blamed and to be condemned , '' said Ambassador Park In-kook . A presidential statement , unlike a Security Council resolution , is not legally binding , though it requires approval of the council 's five permanent members : China , Russia , France , the United Kingdom and the United States . An international joint civilian-military investigation deemed North Korea culpable for the March 26 sinking of the warship , the Cheonan . Australia , Britain , the United States , Sweden and South Korea provided experts for the inquiry . The Security Council expressed `` deep sympathy and condolences , '' for the deaths of 46 sailors aboard the Cheonan . The statement was read aloud by the Nigerian ambassador , the rotating Security Council president for the month of July , after being voted on Friday by the full 15-member body . In June , investigation co-chair Yoon Duk-yong presented technical and visual evidence to the Security Council , saying the Cheonan was definitively `` sunk by a torpedo which was made in North Korea and the launching was also done by a North Korean midget submarine . '' The isolated North has maintained its innocence , rejecting the investigation findings outright , questioning the validity of the experts involved , asking to conduct its own inquiry , and telling the Security Council that North Korea is the true victim of a conspiracy . A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of North Korea , officially the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea , called the presidential statement `` devoid of any proper judgment , '' according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency . He added that the case `` should have been settled between the north and the south without referring it to the UN . The DPRK remains unchanged in its stand to probe the truth about the case to the last . '' North Korean U.N . Ambassador Sin Son Ho called Friday 's U.N. statement `` our great diplomatic victory . '' `` From the beginning of the incident we have made our position very clear that this incident has nothing to do with us , '' he said . At a rare appearance before reporters in June , Sin questioned a number of the experts ' conclusions , for instance asking how `` the body of the torpedo can remain as it is while [ a ] huge warship is cut down into two parts ? How the torpedo can remain ? '' Sin had warned , `` our people and army will smash out aggressors with merciless counteraction if they dare to provoke us . '' The Security Council statement highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula . It welcomed the `` restraint shown '' by South Korea in the handling of the Cheonan incident , and urged the resumption of dialogue and negotiations between the strained neighbors . A senior South Korean official called on North Korea again Friday to apologize for the Cheonan 's sinking . `` North Korea must apologize for the deaths of 46 of our young men '' and punish troops involved in the sinking , Vice Unification Minister Um Jong-sik told a group of former ministry officials , according to the Yonhap news agency . CNN 's Evan Buxbaum contributed to this report .
NEW : North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman calls the statement ` ` devoid of any proper judgment '' South Korean official says the U.N. statement makes it clear North Korea is to blame . North Korean official calls the U.N. statement ` ` our great diplomatic victory '' The statement stops short of accusing North Korea in sinking of South Korean ships .