US leads warnings to N.Korea, China seeks restraint

Friends in high places keeps Kim safe at night.

Japan PM says N. Korean naval attack 'unforgivable'
Tokyo (AFP) May 20, 2010 - Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday North Korea's sinking of a South Korean navy ship was "unforgivable" after an investigation concluded the communist regime was to blame. "Our country strongly supports South Korea," he said in a statement read out by his chief spokesman Hirofumi Hirano. "The North Korean action is unforgivable and we strongly condemn it, with the international community." A multinational investigation panel concluded Thursday that a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo that sank a South Korean warship with the loss of 46 lives on March 26 near the disputed maritime border.

North Korea denied responsibility, warning of "full-scale war" if new sanctions are imposed. Hirano earlier called the attack "extremely regrettable" and said Japan would most likely support South Korea if it raised the matter at the United Nations Security Council. Hatoyama also gave an assurance of his support for South Korea on Wednesday in a telephone conversation with President Lee Myung-Bak. Any action against Pyongyang by the UN Security Council would require agreement from China, a veto-wielding council member and the North's ally, which has indicated it first wants to see strong evidence. Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told reporters that "we would like China to take concerted action as much as possible ... The evidence is objective and I think we can trust it. Japan strongly supports South Korea."

Hirano said the panel's finding would complicate efforts to resume the long stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks grouping the two Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the United States. "I think it will be very difficult to resume six-party talks, in the way we had discussed earlier," Hirano said after reading out the premier's statement. The North quit the dialogue in April last year and staged its second atomic weapons test a month later. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il vowed during a visit to China this month to try to revive the talks, Beijing media said. The North Korean issue will be discussed when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Japan Friday before heading to China and South Korea, and at a summit of Japan, China and South Korea at the end of the month.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) May 20, 2010
The United States on Thursday warned North Korea of consequences after a investigation concluded it sank a South Korean warship, but China called for restraint amid a chorus of international outrage.

Western nations and Japan were quick to voice solidarity with South Korea after a long-awaited multinational investigation found that a North Korean submarine torpedoed the Cheonan on March 26, killing 46 sailors.

The United States, which stations 28,500 troops in South Korea under a security alliance, condemned North Korea's sinking of the warship as an "unprovoked, unwarranted" act of aggression.

"This was a serious provocation. There will be definitely be consequences," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

The United States did not specify its counter-measures. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, asked repeatedly at a news briefing about the US response, said only that "a lot of things" were on the table.

In a sign the United States was not expecting tensions to abruptly escalate, the head of the US military, Admiral Mike Mullen, said US troops had not been put on a state of alert, despite Pyongyang's threats of "all-out war" in response to any effort to punish it.

"The forces are clearly aware of what's gone on, but we haven't changed any readiness levels as a result of this, up to this point," Mullen said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was en route to Japan, China and South Korea for talks on a previously scheduled visit. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon was also in "close consultation" with South Korea.

The United States has already hinted at one consequence -- no quick resumption of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

North Korea stormed out of the talks last year before testing its second nuclear bomb, but has since been keen to negotiate with the United States.

Kim Jong-Il's regime is seeking a permanent peace treaty with the United States that would finally put an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War -- and, in effect, bestow recognition on his isolated state.

US lawmakers also united behind South Korea, with some urging a further toughening of sanctions against the North.

Republican Senator Sam Brownback called for the United States to reclassify North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Former president George W. Bush removed Pyongyang -- opening the way for it to receive international loans -- as a concession during talks.

But China, the main diplomatic and economic partner of the impoverished North, was alone in stopping short of condemning Pyongyang.

"We maintain that parties involved should stay calm and exercise restraint and properly handle the issue so as to avoid the escalation of the situation," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.

"We stand for safeguarding regional peace and stability, promoting the six-party talks and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," he said.

Beijing fears punitive measures taken against North Korea could lead to a collapse of its hardline regime and possibly millions of starving refugees on its doorstep, experts say.

Experts also see China as benefiting from the division of the Korean peninsula, which provides a buffer state separating it from the US troops in South Korea.

There was no immediate reaction from Russia, another member of the six-nation talks, which historically has enjoyed warm relations with Pyongyang.

Japan, which has long advocated a hard line against North Korea, said it fully supported South Korea.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama called the torpedo attack "unforgivable" and offered for Japan to spearhead any resolution at the UN Security Council against North Korea.

The United Nations said the findings against North Korea were "deeply troubling," while Australia, Britain, France and the European Union offered condemnation.

A spokesman for the French foreign ministry called on North Korea to "abandon the path of murderous violence" and return to negotiations.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon meanwhile called on Pyongyang to account for the "violent act of aggression."

Canada sent three naval experts to join the multinational investigation of the sinking, and remains "fully supportive" of South Korea, "our democratic ally and friend," Cannon said.

burs/sct/ao/ag

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US tells NKorea to expect punishment
Washington (AFP) May 20, 2010
The United States told North Korea Thursday it would be punished for sinking a South Korean warship, but kept troop readiness normal in a sign it did not expect an immediate military flare-up. The torpedo attack, which cost 46 lives and prompted international calls for new sanctions against the nuclear-armed hermit state, was an "unprovoked and unwarranted" act of aggression, State Departmen ... read more

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