Obama backs South Korea over warship sinking

US President Barack Obama “fully supports” the South Korean president and his response to the torpedo attack by North Korea which killed 46 South Korean sailors, the White House said today.

The administration said it endorsed President Lee Myung-bak’s demand that “North Korea immediately apologise and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent and threatening behaviour”.

Seoul can continue to count on the full backing of Washington, the White House said.

“US support for South Korea’s defence is unequivocal, and the President has directed his military commanders to co-ordinate closely with their Republic of Korea counterparts to ensure readiness and to deter future aggression,” the White House said.

The South Korean president said today that his nation would no longer tolerate the North’s “brutality” and said the repressive communist regime would pay for the surprise torpedo attack on March 26.

He also vowed to cut off all trade with the North and to take Pyongyang to the UN Security Council for punishment over the sinking of the warship Cheonan.

The attack was South Korea’s worst military disaster since the Korean War.

Speaking earlier in Beijing, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the North must be held accountable and she is pushing to get the support of China, North Korea’s top ally, for diplomatic action.

A team of international investigators concluded last week that a North Korean submarine launched the torpedo which split the Cheonan in two.

Mr Obama, in response to North Korea’s pattern of “provocation and defiance of international law”, has ordered US government agencies to review their policies toward Pyongyang.

The White House said Defence Secretary Robert Gates remained in close contact with the South Korean defence minister and would meet him next month in Singapore.