Clinton: US, China share responsibility for Koreas

[May 25, 2010]  BEIJING (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday stepped up pressure on China to back international action against North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship, calling peace and security on the Korean peninsula "a shared responsibility" between Washington and Beijing.

"Now we need to work together again to address the serious challenge posed by the sinking of the South Korean ship," Clinton said after two days of high-level talks with Chinese officials.

"No one is more concerned about peace and stability in this region as the Chinese," she said. "We know this is a shared responsibility and in the days ahead we will work with the international community and our Chinese colleagues to fashion an effective, appropriate response."

A team of international investigators concluded last week that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the South Korean warship Cheonan. The North has flatly denied involvement and China, the communist country's main ally, has remained neutral.

On Tuesday, South Korea resumed propaganda broadcasts into North Korea after a six-year halt. Pyongyang said its 1.2 million-member military was bracing for war.

The U.S. wants China to support U.N. Security Council action against North Korea. But China's State Counselor Dai Bingguo would not go that far Tuesday, merely calling for the "relevant parties" to "calmly and properly handle the issue and avoid escalation of tension."

Clinton said she and other U.S. officials had "very productive and very detailed" discussions with Chinese about the incident and "the Chinese understand the gravity of this situation."

However, she could not say if any progress had been made in persuading the Chinese to back U.N. action.

"We expect to be working together with China in responding to North Korea's provocative action and promoting stability in the region," Clinton told reporters.

"I think it is absolutely clear that China not only values but is very committed to regional stability and it shares with us the goal of a denuclearized Korean peninsula and a period of careful consideration in order to determine the best way forward in dealing with North Korea," she said.

[Associated Press; By MATTHEW LEE]

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