Obama rallies Chinese, Russian support to stop N. Korean rocket

(ATTN: UPDATES with official's remarks in paras 8-11)
By Byun Duk-kun
LONDON, April 1 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama solicited support from
his Chinese and Russian counterparts Wednesday to dissuade North Korea from
launching a rocket, calling it a serious threat to global peace.

The U.S. president held back-to-back bilateral talks with Chinese President Hu
Jintao and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev.
"We also expressed concern that a North Korean ballistic missile launch would be
damaging to peace and stability in the region and agreed to urge the DPRK to
exercise restraint and observe relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions," Obama
and Medvedev said in a joint statement issued at the end of their summit.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official
name.
Pyongyang earlier said it will launch a rocket between Saturday and next
Wednesday to put a communications satellite into space, but the U.S. has
condemned the move as a guise for a long-range missile test.
Russia and China, both close allies of North Korea, have expressed concerns over
a North Korean launch, but they are viewed to be much more sympathetic to
Pyongyang's claim that it has a right to develop space technology.
North Korea is prohibited from any missile-related activities under a U.N.
Security Council resolution adopted shortly after the communist nation fired a
ballistic missile in 2006.
A senior U.S. official, accompanying Obama here, said that Obama and Medvedev
reached a broad agreement on tackling the threat from North Korea's planned
rocket launch, but fell short of elaborating on what they will exactly do if the
North actually fires the rocket.
"The president did explicitly raise the launch," the official said, asking
anonymity, according to a transcript released by the White House. "They discussed
North Korea ... I think it is fair to say that they're in agreement about the
challenges. There are some broad agreements."
"And that, to me, is progress," the official said. "I don't feel comfortable
elaborating beyond that, but that was very striking to me in the meeting."
Reports said China and Russia, with veto power in the U.N. Security Council, may
not join forces with the U.S. and its allies in imposing further sanctions on
North for its rocket launch.
The Chinese president, meanwhile, joined Obama in calling for a denuclearized Korea.
"The two sides agreed to maintain close communication and coordination and to
work together for the settlement of conflicts and reduction of tensions that
contribute to global and regional instability, including the denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula, the Iranian nuclear issue, Sudan humanitarian issues, and
the situation in South Asia," said a U.S. statement on the Obama-Hu meeting,
posted on the Web site of the U.S. Embassy in London.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said the launch would violate a U.N.
Security Council resolution that prohibits North Korea from any missile-related
activities. He held bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso here
earlier Wednesday.
Aso, who has ordered his country's Self Defense Forces to shoot down any North
Korean rocket approaching the country, said his country will work with Washington
and London to have North Korea referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible
sanctions.
Lee noted any U.N. sanctions on North Korea will depend on the two strongest
allies of Pyongyang -- China and Russia.
Lee is set for an one-on-one meeting with the Chinese president here on Thursday,
following his summit with Obama on Wednesday.
(END)