US president arrives in ROK amid belief that detonation is imminent

US President Barack Obama arrived in Seoul on Friday to growing signs that Pyongyang was readying another nuclear test, and with the Republic of Korea in a state of national mourning over the sinking of a ferry full of high school students.

Obama landed at a US air force base outside the ROK capital, which is still wracked with grief over the 300 dead or missing more than a week after the disaster.

Obama offered personal condolences to his counterpart, Park Geun-hye, over the tragedy, but he was set to turn the discussion to the ROK's northern neighbor.

Pyongyang will gain "nothing" by making threats, Obama said in Seoul, warning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea of sanctions with "more bite" if it went ahead with a fourth nuclear test.

He stressed that Washington and Seoul stood "shoulder to shoulder" in their refusal to accept a nuclear DPRK.

"Threats will get (the DPRK) nothing, other than greater isolation," Obama said at a joint news conference with Park.

Satellite photos taken just two days ago showed additional activity at DPRK's Punggye-ri test site that the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said was "probably related" to preparations for a detonation.

That analysis echoed recent warnings from Seoul that Pyongyang might be planning a nuclear test to coincide with Obama's two-day visit.

Asked how the international community might react, Obama said it would be necessary to look at "additional ways" to apply pressure.

Pyongyang is already subject to multiple levels of UN and other sanctions as a result of its three previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

Acknowledging there was no "magic bullet" that would bring Pyongyang into the international fold, Obama stressed the importance of the US and its two main Asian allies, Japan and the ROK, maintaining a united front in the face of Pyongyang's "thoroughly irresponsible" and provocative behavior.

Washington has been deeply concerned by a diplomatic rift between Seoul and Tokyo that has partially paralyzed their bilateral relationship.

Obama also made it clear that there would be no change in the US refusal to engage with the DPRK until Pyongyang demonstrates a tangible commitment to eventual denuclearization.

Washington will not just engage in a dialogue that "leads nowhere" and end up making concessions that reward the DPRK for its bad behavior, he said.

"Denuclearization has to be on the table," he added.

Park said a fourth nuclear test by the DPRK would "fundamentally shake and alter" the entire security landscape in Northeast Asia.

"As a result, the UN would be left with no choice but to slap even stronger punishments on the (DPRK) to safeguard the peace of the region and the world," the president added.

AFP-Reuters

(China Daily 04/26/2014 page8)