The South Korean Defense Ministry has given materials on the sinking of the Cheonan warship to Russian experts for further investigations, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

A group of Russian Navy experts left Seoul on Monday after assessing an international investigation that found North Korea responsible for the sinking of the warship in March. The Russian experts did not draw their own conclusions on the issue.

"The South Korean Defense Ministry gave Russian Naval Experts an array of documents and materials for physical-chemical analysis," the source said, adding that the move would open the investigation to a wider rage of Russian experts.

The 1,200-ton Cheonan warship sank near the disputed Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea on March 26, causing the loss of 46 lives. An international investigation, carried out by U.S. and Australian experts, revealed that North Korea fired a torpedo at the vessel from a submarine, although Pyongyang has denied the allegations.

MOSCOW, June 8 (RIA Novosti)