WASHINGTON—The Obama administration sought to heighten the pressure on China to rein in North Korea, even as American officials said that they believe that Pyongyang’s deadly shelling of a South Korea military installation was an isolated incident and not the beginning of an extended military campaign.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said China was “absolutely critical” to the international effort to get North Korea to stand down. “It’s very important for China to lead,” Admiral Mullen said in an appearance Wednesday on ABC’s The View. “The one country that has influence in Pyongyang is China and so their leadership is absolutely critical.”
Separately, White House officials said that President Obama will be telephoning Chinese President Hu Jintao—probably on Friday—to discuss the shelling. American officials in Beijing have also been speaking to their Chinese counterparts as part of the effort.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters that the United States believes that the attack is “a one-off, premeditated” act. “Without getting into intelligence matters, we don’t see that North Korea is preparing for an extended military confrontation.”
Like Admiral Mullen, Mr. Crowley called on China to act. “China does have influence with North Korea and we would hope and expect that China will use that influence, first to reduce tensions that have arisen as a result of North Korean provocations and then secondly to continue to encourage North Korea to take affirmative steps to denuclearize,” Mr. Crowley said.
Meanwhile, Pentagon and military officials provided more details on the joint naval exercise in waters west of the Korean Peninsula, now scheduled for Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.
While American participation in an exercise with the South Korean navy had been announced in July, and planning was underway for the event, the presidents of both nations set the specific date in response to the artillery attack by North Korea, officials said.
“While planned well before yesterday’s unprovoked artillery attack, it demonstrates the strength of the ROK-U.S. alliance and our commitment to regional stability through deterrence,” the Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement. “This exercise is defensive in nature.”
The carrier George Washington, which makes its home port in Yokosuka, Japan, and sails with a complete wing of combat aircraft, will lead four other American warships in the joint exercise.
Military officials said the George Washington had been preparing to sail from its home port to participate with the Japanese navy in a joint exercise to begin December 3. Following the artillery exchange between the two Koreas, it was ordered to exercise with the South Korean navy before joining the exercise with the Japanese.
source: http://www.nytimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment