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North Korea Cutting All Relations With Seoul

VOA News 25 May 2010

North Korea says it is cutting all relations with South Korea in a dispute about a recent attack on a South Korean warship.

North Korea's national reunification committee announced the move Tuesday in a statement published by state-run media. It said Pyongyang will have no contact with South Korean authorities while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak remains in office.

North Korea also vowed to expel all South Korean officials from an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong.

Other steps announced by Pyongyang include banning South Korean ships and airliners from passing through its territory and a resumption of psychological warfare against the South.

South Korea announced its own sanctions against the North Monday in retaliation for a torpedo attack that sank the Cheonan warship in March, killing 46 sailors. International investigators blame the attack on a North Korean submarine, a charge Pyongyang denies.

U.S. State Department spokesman PJ Crowley described North Korea's decision to cut ties with the South as "odd" and said it was contrary to Pyongyang's long-term interests.

Crowley said North Korea is unable to feed its people while South Korea has one of the world's most dynamic economies.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China Tuesday to support international action against North Korea in response to the sinking of the Cheonan. She said the United States and China have a "shared responsibility" to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula.

Clinton was speaking as she wrapped up two days of talks with Chinese officials in Beijing. She said both nations will work on "effective and appropriate" measures to deal with North Korea in the coming days.

Chinese State Counselor Dai Bingguo said ensuring peace in the region is critical and urged all parties to act calmly and avoid escalating tensions.

The Kremlin says Russian President Dmitri Medvedev also called Tuesday for both Koreas to exercise restraint and prevent an escalation of the situation. It says he made the appeal in a phone conversation with South Korean President Lee.

Earlier, North Korea's military accused the South Korean navy of making dozens of intrusions into its waters in the past 10 days and warned of military action in response to further violations.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.