[1]South Korea and Japan pressed China on Sunday to censure North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship, but failed to win its public support after a three-way summit.
Host President Lee Myung-Bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama teamed up at the two-day summit to nudge Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to declare Pyongyang responsible for the March sinking of the South Korean corvette.
But Mr Wen gave no sign China is ready to back United Nations Security Council action against its ally over the sinking, which cost 46 lives. “The urgent task now is to defuse the impact of the Cheonan incident, change the tense situation and avoid clashes,” Mr Wen told a joint press conference.
“China will actively communicate with relevant parties and lead the situation to help promote peace and stability in the region, which fits our common and long-term interests best.”
South Korea announced reprisals including a trade cut-off after international investigators reported on May 20 that a North Korean submarine fired a heavy torpedo to sink the Cheonan. The North denies involvement and has responded to the reprisals with threats of war, fuelling regional tensions. It said it did not possess the type of small submarine allegedly used for the attack.
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Man held for running sex sites
Seoul, May 30: A South Korean man has been arrested for running Internet sex sites involving female North Korean refugees hiding in China, a report said on Sunday.
The 53-year-old identified only as Na is accused of recruiting about 160 North Korean women and ethnic Koreans in China to engage in sex talk with South Korean clients or to strip on webcams, Yonhap news agency said. The report gave no further details. It is illegal in South Korea to operate sex sites. —AFP
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