North Korea lashed out yesterday over South Korea’s diplomatic drive at the UN Security Council against Pyongyang over the sinking of one of Seoul’s warships.
Seoul has called on the Security Council to respond to the alleged torpedo attack by the North on the Cheonan in March to prevent any further “provocation” by the reclusive regime.
However, the Minju Joson, an official North Korean mouthpiece, said South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was engaged in a “conspiracy with US and Japanese masters” against his fellow Koreans.
“The Lee group’s hectic diplomacy over the ship sinking is absolutely intolerable as it is a treacherous crime aimed at internationalizing the case and [to] hurt and stifle fellow countrymen,” it said.
It reiterated the North’s denial of any involvement in the sinking of the 1,200 tonne corvette that was torn apart by a blast near the disputed Yellow Sea border in March, claiming the lives of 46 sailors.
South Korea on Friday formally asked for the UN Security Council to take up the matter after a multinational probe found last month that a North Korean torpedo sank the warship.
Seoul said it wants the 15-member body to “respond in a manner appropriate to the gravity of North Korea’s military provocation in order to deter recurrence of any further provocation by North Korea.”
The South has announced a series of reprisals, including cutting off trade with the cash-strapped North, in the wake of the deadliest peace-time tragedy for the country since the end of the Korean War.
Pyongyang has denied any role in the sinking and has responded to the reprisals with threats of war, sending regional tensions soaring.
In order to secure a UN censure resolution against the North, Seoul must win support from veto-wielding council members Russia and China, which have been close to Pyongyang.
Russia, which has said it needs “100 percent proof” of the North’s involvement, sent a team of naval experts to South Korea last week to review findings of the probe and visit the site of the sinking.
The South Koreans have also asked China to send its own experts, but Beijing has not responded, media reports said.
At a three-way summit last weekend, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) resisted pressure from Japanese and South Korean leaders to publicly support the UN move or to condemn the North, calling instead for calm.
Yonhap news agency, citing unnamed government sources, said yesterday that Seoul was considering sending a high-level envoy to Beijing soon to secure its backing at the Security Council.
Hong Kong’s Sunday Morning Post newspaper said Seoul was considering deploying Patriot anti-missile batteries on its soil, a move that would risk angering Beijing, Officials in Seoul could not immediately confirm the reports.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese