Clinton Says N. Korea Role in Sinking Demands World Response

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged international action to answer North Korea’s suspected sinking of a South Korean warship, just before she arrived in China for talks set to deal with the crisis.

The U.S. wants China to help shape a response to North Korea, an American official told reporters yesterday in Shanghai. China is an ally of North Korea and has hosted now stalled international talks on reining in the regime’s nuclear arms effort. The U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, said South Korea doesn’t want war to break out over the crisis.

The evidence that North Korea fired a torpedo and sank the ship is “overwhelming and condemning,” Clinton said at a press briefing in Tokyo with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada during a short stop before she flew on to China. The March 26 sinking of the 1,200-ton Cheonan killed 46 South Korean sailors.

South Korea’s options for a response include seeking action by the United Nations Security Council, shutting down humanitarian aid work and the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea, and joint military exercises with the U.S., according to John Park, director of the Korea Working Group at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.

“The U.S. is in a tough position” at the UN, Park said in an interview. “With talks on Iran sanctions going on, they will be asked by countries like China what their priority is.”

China joined the U.S., U.K., France and Russia this week to back a draft UN Security Council resolution on Iran that would bolster an arms embargo, restrict financial transactions and enhance authority to stop and seize Iranian cargo suspected of ties to nuclear or missile work.

War Threat

The United Nations Command is convening a special investigation team consisting of UNC members and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission to review the findings of the international panel and to determine the scope of any armistice violations, the UNC said in Seoul today in a statement on its website. The team will report the findings to UN, according to the statement.

Kim Jong Il’s regime in North Korea, already under UN sanctions for its second nuclear-weapons test last year, threatened “all-out war” if the international body imposes additional restrictions.

In Tokyo, Clinton and Okada offered unqualified support for South Korea after an international panel issued a report saying evidence provided “conclusive” proof of North Korea’s role in the ship incident.

Okinawa, Japan

“The importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance is increasing as the sinking of the South Korean ship shows the instability” in the region, Okada said.

Another U.S. official told reporters in Shanghai that the sinking shifted Japan’s attitude in a dispute over moving an American base on Okinawa and that Japan would make a contribution on a deal. The official also asked not to be identified.

Clinton and Okada discussed the dispute over where to relocate the American military facility. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who initially called for moving the Futenma Marine Base off the island in response to local sentiment, said earlier this month he will transfer the base within Okinawa, largely in line with a 2006 bilateral agreement.

Clinton said both countries share the same goals on moving the base and are seeking an “operationally viable and politically sustainable” solution. Both sides would try to conclude the matter by the end of the month, Okada said.

Tension on the Korean peninsula is overshadowing the planned centerpiece of Clinton’s Asia trip. She and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be in Beijing May 23-25 to take part in the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.