YONHAP NEWS

U.S. warns N. Korea not to raise tension: State Dept.

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- The United States Friday urged North Korea not to escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula ahead of the planned visit to Seoul by U.S. President Barack Obama next week.

   "We urge North Korea to refrain from that kind of bellicose rhetoric in general and avoid any kind of provocative actions that will further inflame tension in the region," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

   Kelly was responding to reports by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency earlier in the day that the North's military will take retaliatory action against South Korea for the naval clash in the Yellow Sea Tuesday.

   The skirmish left a North Korean patrol boat crippled within minutes after it entered South Korean waters and ignored warning shots.

   Some reports said the North Korean vessel retreated in flames, and one North Korean soldier was killed and several others injured. There were no South Korean casualties.

   Similar skirmishes in 1999 and 2002 caused dozens of casualties on the part of the South Korean navy. North Korea has long tried to defy the Northern Limit Line, the de-facto sea border drawn by the United Nations Command after the 1950-1953 Korean War.

   The clash comes just days before Obama's visit to Seoul Wednesday.

   Obama will likely discuss with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak how to persuade North Korea to come back to the six-party talks on ending its nuclear weapons programs, among others.

   The North's intrusion is seen by some as an attempt to attract U.S. attention as Obama tours Asia.

   In Tokyo, the first stop his four-nation Asian tour, Obama said North Korea will see a better future if it pursues denuclearization, but otherwise warned of continued sanctions.

   Obama's remarks came at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on his first stop in the eight-day trip, which will also bring him to Singapore, Beijing and Seoul.

   "We discussed both North Korea and the situation in Iran, recognizing that it's absolutely vital that both countries meet their international obligations," Obama said, according to a transcript released by the White House. "If they do, then they can open the door to a better future. If not, we will remain united in implementing U.N. resolutions that are in place and continuing to work in an international context to move towards an agenda of nonproliferation."

   The United Nations Security Council adopted resolutions earlier this year after North Korea's nuclear and missile tests to impose financial sanctions and an overall arms embargo, prompting the North to bolt from the six-party talks on ending its nuclear programs.

   North Korea recently hinted at a possible return to the multilateral nuclear talks, contingent on bilateral talks with the U.S.

   State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told a daily news briefing that Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy, will go to Pyongyang between "the end of this month or the beginning of December" to woo the North back to the six-party talks.

   Another official, who asked not to be named, put the timing to early December.

   In Japan, Obama said he discussed extensively with Hatoyama "how we should proceed with Pyongyang."

   "Obviously, we were disturbed by the testing that took place, some of the belligerent actions that had taken place in an earlier period of this year," he said. "We have continued to say that our goal is a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula. That's vital for the security of East Asia."

   The U.S. president reiterated he will seek North Korea's nuclear dismantlement through the six-party talks.

   "The United States and Japan, with the other members of the six-party talks, will continue to work to show North Korea that there is a pathway, a door, for them to rejoin the international community that would serve their people well and I believe enhance their security over the long term," Obama said. "They have to walk through that door."

   "In the meantime, we will continue to implement the sanctions that have already been put in place, and we will continue to coordinate closely with Japan and the other six-party members in helping to shape a strategy that meets our security needs and convince Pyongyang to move in a better direction," he said.

   hdh@yna.co.kr
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