WASHINGTON, May 21 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday warned North Korea of consequences for the sinking of a South Korean warship on the inter-Korean sea border.
"I think it is important to send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences," Clinton said in a joint news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in Tokyo, according to a transcript released by the State Department. "We cannot allow this attack on South Korea to go unanswered by the international community. So we will determine our best options, moving forward, and send a clear, unmistakable message to North Korea regarding the international community's, and most particularly, its neighbors' concerns about its behavior."
| Is that a strongly-enough worded denunciation? |
"It is premature for me, at this moment, to announce options or actions without that level of consultation among the regional nations that are most directly affected by North Korea's behavior," she said. "I look forward to being able to work out the details over the next week."
The top U.S. diplomat arrived in Tokyo earlier in the day on the first leg of her week-long tour of three Northeast Asian nations. Other destinations include Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul. The ship sinking seems likely to dominate the trip, originally set around the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China focusing on the possible revaluation of the Chinese currency, bilateral trade and other economic issues to cope with the global economic downturn.
Clinton said she will discuss the Cheonan disaster with Chinese officials in Beijing. "Then I will travel to Seoul to consult with our South Korean partners about the way forward," she said. "But let me be clear. This will not be and cannot be business as usual. There must be an international -- not just a regional, but an international -- response."
Clinton urged North Korea to "stop its provocative behavior, halt its policy of threats and belligerence toward its neighbors, and take irreversible steps to fulfill its denuclearization commitments, and comply with international law."
She dismissed North Korea's denial of involvement. "This was a thorough and comprehensive scientific examination, and the United States and other international observers were deeply engaged," she said. "The evidence is overwhelming and condemning. The torpedo that sunk the Cheonan and took the lives of 46 South Korean sailors was fired by a North Korean submarine. And the United States strongly condemns this act of aggression."
| That's a good statement, but it's still unlikely we're going to go further than that. |
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