‘US to Hold NK Leadership Responsible for Sinking’

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that her government will hold North Korea’s leadership responsible for the sinking of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan.

At a joint news conference after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan in Seoul, Clinton called the incident an “unacceptable provocation” and said Pyongyang must pay for what it has done.

Announcing Washington’s full support for Seoul’s plan to take the matter to the U.N. Security Council, she said the two allies will seek to prevent further provocations by Pyongyang.

Clinton said the investigation into the Cheonan sinking was scientific and objective, with its evidence overwhelming. She said Washington fully backs Seoul’s “prudent” and “appropriate” measures.

Visiting South Korea after attending strategic economic talks in China, she said Beijing understands the severity of the Cheonan sinking and is ready to listen to Washington’s concerns.

Clinton also urged strong and calculated measures on the North, saying South Korea and the U.S. should pursue both goals at the same time under a strategy of shifting the North’s direction and improving the lives of the North Korean people.

She held a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak right after the news conference, where the president said the two allies must cope with the situation with sufficient time, according to Lee Dong-kwan, the president’s chief public relations secretary. Clinton was quoted as urging “strategic patience.”

spear@donga.com