Clinton warns N Korea to halt threats

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127806§ionid=351020405



US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned North Korea to halt belligerent actions after meetings with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Clinton arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for a half-day visit to discuss growing tensions between the two Koreas after a multinational team blamed the sinking of a South Korean warship on North Korea, CNN reported.

"We will stand with you in this difficult hour and we will stand with you always," Clinton said at a news conference with Yu.

Clinton further pointed out that the United States was reviewing additional options to hold the North accountable, adding that the world must respond to its sinking of a South Korean warship.

The White House said earlier that it fully supports plans by the South Korean president to punish North Korea for sinking one of its warships in March.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Tuesday, Pyongyang threatened Seoul with a military response over the alleged trespassing of South Korean warships.

According to a senior North Korean army official, "dozens of warships" entered the North's waters in the Yellow Sea between May 14 to 24.

Pyongyang says Seoul deliberately made the move, arguing that it seeks another military conflict in the region. South Korea, however, has denied entering the waters.

Tensions have been on the rise on the Korean peninsula ever since a torpedo sank a South Korean warship March 26, killing 46 sailors.

Seoul says the torpedo was fired from a North Korean submarine.

The North has rejected the claim as "smear campaign," insisting that its navy did not torpedo the South Korean ship.