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China could join moves to sanction North Korea

26 May 2010 22:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. China may soon abandon its cautious neutrality and join the international condemnation of North Korea’s role in sinking a South Korean warship, senior American officials said Wednesday, APA reports quoting â€œAssociated Pressâ€.
Speaking after strategic talks this week in Beijing, the U.S. officials predicted that China will gradually endorse the view that North Korea should be held accountable for the March 26 torpedo attack.
On a visit to South Korea this weekend, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is likely to express regret for the deaths of 46 South Korean sailors in the incident and signal that China will accept the results of an international investigation blaming North Korea, the U.S. officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions with China.
Wen is also expected to leave open the possibility of backing action against Pyongyang at the U.N. Security Council, although it’s not clear how far Beijing is prepared to go in rebuking its historic ally.
In Seoul earlier Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the world must respond to the "unacceptable provocation" represented by the sinking of a South Korean warship, as Pyongyang engaged in blistering rhetoric against Seoul and Washington.
Clinton told reporters after talks with South Korean leaders that "the international community has a responsibility and a duty to respond" to the sinking, which "requires a strong but measured response." She spoke at a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan.