South Korea, Japan make show of unity over North Korea

South Korea and Japan on Saturday vowed to stand united against North Korea ahead of a regional summit likely to press China over its reluctance to blame Pyongyang for the sinking of a South Korean ship.

Leaders of the three big northeast Asian powers are meeting in Seogwipo, a honeymoon resort on the South Korean island of Jeju, for a summit that was meant to boost plans for greater regional cooperation and economic integration.

Instead, the quarrel between North and South Korea has stolen the limelight. The two sides of the divided, heavily armed peninsula are at odds after a South Korean warship was sunk in late March, killing 46 sailors, and Seoul has since concluded that North Korea was responsible. 

The mounting antagonism between the two Koreas has unnerved investors, worried the confrontation could erupt into conflict. Many analysts say that neither side is ready to go to war but warn there could be more skirmishes, especially along their disputed sea border off the west coast.

In talks over two days, South Korean President president Lee Myung-bak, Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are likely to dwell the dispute, which has opened a breach between China and its neighbours, both of whom back firm international action against Pyongyang.                                           

"Japan wholeheartedly supports South Korea," Hatoyama told Lee in a bilateral meeting ahead of the main three-way summit, according to a South Korean government statement. 

China counts neighbouring North Korea as a friend and a buffer against the other, US-allied neighbours. It has stayed away from condemning Pyongyang, saying it needs to consider the evidence and urging restraint on all sides.                                           

Wen held to that position in a meeting with Lee on Friday, but he also said Beijing would protect nobody found culpable for the sinking.

"Premier Wen especially stressed that China has always advocated and worked for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, and opposes and condemns any action that wrecks that peace and stability," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Seoul on Friday, describing Wen''s talks with Lee. 

"The more complicated the situation, the more we have to bear in mind the broader context," Qin added.

Beijing's reticence makes for tricky diplomacy for Seoul, which will need China's backing or abstention from voting to get through a UN Security Council statement or resolution criticising North Korea over the sinking. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China can veto such actions.

The leaders of South Korea and Japan made a show on unity over that issue on Saturday.

"Hatoyama said he will take a leading role in international cooperation (against North over the Cheonan) and expressed strong will to back South Korea's position at the UN Security Council," said South Korea presidential aide Lee Dong-kwan after President Lee''s meeting with the Japanese prime minister.

Hatoyama later told reporters: "We believe what North Korea did is an objective fact."

North Korea has said it will rip up military agreements with the South guaranteeing safety of cross-border exchanges and has reportedly put its military on combat readiness after Seoul said it would ban trade with the North and stop its commercial ships using South Korean waters.