U.S. leader urges China to influence N. Korea against rocket launch

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday, March 25 urged China to use its influence to stop North Korea's "bad behavior" in a nuclear standoff with the West and hinted at tougher sanctions if the reclusive state goes ahead with a rocket launch next month, Reuters reported.

Such a launch would only further isolate the North, which much show its sincerity if on-again-off-again six-party aid-for-disarmament talks are to restart, Obama said.

Seoul and Washington say the launch is a disguised test of ballistic missile. North Korea says it merely wants to put a satellite in orbit.

"They need to understand that bad behavior will not be rewarded," he told a news conference in Seoul after arriving in Seoul to attend a global summit on nuclear security.

Obama urged China to be more forceful and said he would raise the subject at a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday.

Obama earlier visited a U.S. base on the edge of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a solemn North Korea came to a halt to mark the 100th day after "dear leader" Kim Jong-il's death.

Obama's tour, which followed in the footsteps of White House predecessors and bristled with Cold War symbolism, came amid rising concern over the planned rocket launch.

Washington has condemned the launch plan as a violation of North Korea's promise to halt long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and uranium enrichment in return for food aid.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a military official on Sunday as saying the main body of the rocket had been moved to the launch site on North Korea's west coast. The launch will coincide with big celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of the state's founder, Kim Il-sung.