China ‘will not protect those who sank South Korean warship’

CHINA will not protect those who sank a South Korean warship, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday, as he came under pressure in Seoul to join an international push to punish North Korea.

Japan slapped new sanctions on the North over the March 26 sinking, which international investigators say was caused by a North Korean torpedo.

Regional tensions have risen sharply since they announced the findings of their investigation last week, with South Korea announcing reprisals that have sparked threats of war from the North.