Clinton: No 'business as usual' with NK
Source: Agencies |
May 22, 2010, Saturday
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THE top United States diplomat said yesterday that North Korea should face international consequences over the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, while South Korea said the United Nations would investigate whether the attack violated the Korean War truce.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the sinking a "military provocation" and said it violated the UN Charter as well as the truce that ended the fighting in the 1950-53 conflict. But he called for a cautious response to this "serious and grave" issue.
Arriving in Tokyo ahead of a visit to Beijing and Seoul, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US, Japan, South Korea and China are consulting on an appropriate reaction to an international investigation that blamed North Korea for the incident.
She said the report announced on Thursday proves a North Korean sub fired a torpedo that sank the ship, the Cheonan, on March 26 and that it could no longer be "business as usual."
While it was "premature" to discuss exact options or actions that will be taken in response, Clinton said it was "important to send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences."
"The evidence is overwhelming and condemning. The torpedo that sunk the Cheonan ... was fired by a North Korean submarine," she told reporters in Tokyo.
North Korea said for a second day that war clouds loomed over the divided peninsula, and has asked to send its own team to investigate the site.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young called the request "irrational and incomprehensible."
Instead, Kim's ministry requested the UN Command's Military Armistice Commission, which oversees the truce, to conduct a probe separate from the multinational investigation.
"We were caught in a perfect military ambush by North Korea while our people were resting in the late hours," Lee said at an emergency national security meeting.
"Because this is a serious and important issue, I believe there must not be a single mistake in all of our responsive measures, and that we must be highly prudent," he said.
On Thursday, he vowed to take "resolute countermeasures" against North Korea.
But military retaliation looked too dangerous and less of an option given the vulnerability of South Korea's capital, Seoul, and its 10 million residents to North Korean artillery located just across the border.
Lee has not announced what steps South Korea will pursue against North Korea.
North Korea said Seoul's stance was threatening peace on the divided peninsula.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the sinking a "military provocation" and said it violated the UN Charter as well as the truce that ended the fighting in the 1950-53 conflict. But he called for a cautious response to this "serious and grave" issue.
Arriving in Tokyo ahead of a visit to Beijing and Seoul, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US, Japan, South Korea and China are consulting on an appropriate reaction to an international investigation that blamed North Korea for the incident.
She said the report announced on Thursday proves a North Korean sub fired a torpedo that sank the ship, the Cheonan, on March 26 and that it could no longer be "business as usual."
While it was "premature" to discuss exact options or actions that will be taken in response, Clinton said it was "important to send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences."
"The evidence is overwhelming and condemning. The torpedo that sunk the Cheonan ... was fired by a North Korean submarine," she told reporters in Tokyo.
North Korea said for a second day that war clouds loomed over the divided peninsula, and has asked to send its own team to investigate the site.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young called the request "irrational and incomprehensible."
Instead, Kim's ministry requested the UN Command's Military Armistice Commission, which oversees the truce, to conduct a probe separate from the multinational investigation.
"We were caught in a perfect military ambush by North Korea while our people were resting in the late hours," Lee said at an emergency national security meeting.
"Because this is a serious and important issue, I believe there must not be a single mistake in all of our responsive measures, and that we must be highly prudent," he said.
On Thursday, he vowed to take "resolute countermeasures" against North Korea.
But military retaliation looked too dangerous and less of an option given the vulnerability of South Korea's capital, Seoul, and its 10 million residents to North Korean artillery located just across the border.
Lee has not announced what steps South Korea will pursue against North Korea.
North Korea said Seoul's stance was threatening peace on the divided peninsula.
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