TIMES ONLINE: President Barack Obama today said he “fully supports” the South Korean president and his response to the torpedo attack by North Korea that killed 46 South Korean sailors as the cross-border animosity between the two countries continues to rise.
South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak earlier today demanded that North Korea “immediately apologise and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent and threatening behaviour” and announced it will take the case of the torpedoed Cheonan warship to the United Nations Security Council.
In a move which analysts described as “cautiously hard-line”, Mr Lee also said he would be suspending all exchanges between the two Koreas and imposing a total ban on North Korean ships passing through South Korean waters.
His government banned all trade, investment and visits with North Korea. South Korea also plans to reduce the number of workers in a joint factory park just inside the North which has long been an important source of income for the North Korean leadership.
The White House said Seoul can continue to count on the full backing of Washington. Read on and comment >>> Leo Lewis, Beijing | Monday, May 24, 2010
