Clinton says world has a duty to respond to sinking of South Korean warship

Clinton: World must act on SKorean ship sinking

SEOUL, South Korea — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday the world must respond to sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on North Korea.

“This was an unacceptable provocation by North Korea and the international community has a responsibility and a duty to respond,” Clinton told reporters after talks with South Korean leaders.

The ship sinking “requires a strong but measured response,” she said, although she did not elaborate.

Clinton said the United States would be consulting with South Korea and members of the U.N. Security Council on what the appropriate action would be, but she declined to offer a timeline for action.

“We’re very confident in the South Korean leadership, and their decision about how and when to move forward is one that we respect and will support,” she said.

She spent just a few hours in Seoul discussing possible international responses with South Korean leaders. North Korea denies it was responsible for the incident and has threatened to retaliate if action is taken against it.

Clinton touched down in the South Korean capital Wednesday after intense discussions on the deteriorating situation with Chinese officials in Beijing.

“I believe that the Chinese understand the seriousness of this issue and are willing to listen to the concerns expressed by both South Korea and the United States,” she said Wednesday. “We expect to be working with China as we move forward in fashioning a response.”

Asked about the possibility of China or Russia blocking action by the U.N. Security Council, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said they “will take time, I’m sure, but they will not be able to deny the facts.”

Clinton called the investigation into the sinking, which killed 46 sailors, “very thorough, highly professional” and “very convincing.” She said both the United States and South Korea had offered China “additional information and briefings about the underlying facts of that event.”

“We hope that China will take us up on our offer to really understand the details of what happened and the objectivity of the investigation that led to the conclusions,” she said.