BEIJING, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - China has called on the U.S. and South Korea to use a diplomatic approach to resolve disputes with North Korea, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Tuesday.
The comments came as Pyongyang threatened to use its nuclear weapons for "merciless aggression" and a court handed out 12-year prison sentences to two U.S. journalists, who were accused of illegally crossing the country's border.
South Korea's Yonhap quoted the North's Cabinet newspaper on Tuesday as saying, "Our nuclear deterrence capability is a powerful defensive measure to secure the peace and stability of the [Korean] peninsula and nearby regions. It will become a vehicle for merciless attacks on those who even slightly infringe upon our sovereignty."
However despite North Korean rhetoric Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesmen Qin Gang said, "We hope that the United States and South Korea will handle this issue in a proper manner."
Following the sentencing on Monday the U.S. State Department said it would be seeking the release of the two Current TV reporters, Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will travel to the United States next week for talks with President Barack Obama to discuss North Korea's nuclear program.
Pyongyang is under threat of further UN sanctions following its reported May 25 nuclear test. A number of UN sanctions were imposed after the communist state carried out its first nuclear test in 2006.
Among the possible new sanctions, include a ban on importing and exporting all arms and not just heavy weapons, additional asset freezes and travel bans for North Korean officials, as well as placing more firms on a UN blacklist, according to UN sources.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that the Obama administration was considering placing North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism. The Bush administration had earlier removed North Korea from the list after it began dismantling its nuclear sites.
