Clinton warns N.K. of consequences

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 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."

Clinton said she will consult South Korean and Chinese officials in the coming week before deciding on any options to deal with the North Korean torpedo attack, which killed 46 sailors in the Yellow Sea March 26.

A team of multinational investigators including South Korea on Thursday released an official report concluding that North Korea was culpable for the March 26 sinking.

"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.

Clinton will be meeting with her South Korean counterpart Yu Myung-hwan on May 26.

The Cheonan sinking seems likely to dominate Clinton's tour, 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."

South Korea wants to refer the sinking of the 1,200-ton ship to the U.N. Security Council with the aim of imposing further sanctions on North Korea, already under severe penalties for its missile and nuclear tests.

China, a veto power on the U.N. Security Council, however, has not yet officially blamed North Korea for the sinking. China in the past has been reluctant to join international efforts to sanction North Korea, its communist ally.

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."

North Korea's Foreign Ministry earlier in the day said it "has nothing to do with the case," and denounced the U.S. for trying to derail international efforts to revive the six-party nuclear talks by blaming Pyongyang for the sinking of the Cheonan.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley denied that.

"If there has not been progress in the six-party process, there is only one country to blame for that, and that is North Korea," Crowley said. "It has once again taken provocative actions that not only undermine stability in the region, but, in fact, present obstacles to progress towards a denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a different kind of security environment in the region.

The spokesman called on North Korea to stop provocations and abide by its denuclearization pledge made in 2005 under a six-party agreement.

"If North Korea takes these steps, develops a different kind of relationship with South Korea, other countries in the region, a number of things become possible," he said. "If North Korea continues to take these unwarranted actions, such as the sinking of the Cheonan, then further progress is retarded."(From news reports)