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 Speaking in the South Korean capital, Kerry said Washington had
offered the North the chance of an improved relationship in return
for signs of a genuine willingness to end its nuclear program.
"To date, to this moment, particularly with recent provocations, it
is clear the DPRK is not even close to meeting that standard," Kerry
told a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun
Byung-se.
"Instead it continues to pursue nuclear weapons and ballistic
missiles."
DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's
official name. The country is already under heavy UN, EU and U.S.
sanctions for its missile and nuclear tests.
"I think never has the international community been as united as we
are now, that, number one North Korea needs to denuclearize," Kerry
said, adding a pending nuclear deal with Iran could serve as an
example to the North.
"With respect to the methodology for boosting sanctions and other
things, we (the United States and China) are discussing all of that
now. China has obviously an extraordinary leverage.
 "We will have security and economic dialogue with the Chinese in
Washington in June and that will be the moment where we will table
some of these specific steps."
Kerry did not elaborate on possible measures and it was not clear
whether he was referring to steps that would be taken by the two
powers or by the United Nations.
"GROTESQUE, GRISLY, HORRENDOUS"
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei declined to comment on
Kerry's remarks. China has a history of resisting tough moves
against North Korea not mandated by resolutions of the U.N. Security
Council, on which it sits with veto power.
Hong, at a daily news briefing, merely reiterated China's calls for
denuclearization of the whole Korean peninsula.
Pyongyang walked away from a 2005 deal with China, Japan, Russia,
South Korea and the United States to end its nuclear program in
return for diplomatic and economic rewards.
Then in 2012, weeks after signing a deal entering a moratorium on
nuclear and long-range missile tests, the North launched a ballistic
missile, effectively voiding the agreement that also promised U.S.
food aid to the impoverished state.
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The North recently tested what it said was a submarine-launched
ballistic missile, raising regional tension.
North Korea is technically still at war with the South after the
1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and regularly
threatens to destroy the United States, the South's major ally.
Kerry also said it was likely that the North would be referred to
the International Criminal Court because of human rights violations,
and singled out the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, as responsible
for continued rights violations.
"(Kim's) leadership (is) one of the most egregious examples of
reckless disregard for human rights and human beings anywhere on the
planet," he said, citing what he called "grotesque, grisly,
horrendous public displays of executions on a whim and a fancy by
the leader".
South Korea's spy agency said last week the North's defense chief
had been executed with anti-aircraft fire, which if confirmed, would
be the latest in a series of high-level purges since Kim took charge
in 2011.
The U.N. General Assembly has recommended that the North be referred
to the tribunal for crimes against humanity after a U.N. inquiry
detailed abuses in the country including prison camps and use of
torture.
Diplomats say China is likely to veto any such bid.
(Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan in Beijing; Writing by
Jack Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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