The United States Thursday reiterated its demand that North Korea apologize for the sinking of a South Korean warship and show a commitment to nuclear dismantlement before coming back to the six-party talks.
"We repeatedly called on North Korea to take the steps needed to show the seriousness of purpose required to begin or restart six-party talks with the aim of irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Mike Hammer, spokesman for the National Security Council, told a news briefing at the Foreign Press Club.
North Korea denies responsibility in the Cheonan's sinking, which killed 46 sailors in the Yellow Sea in March.
Some believe the sinking was masterminded by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son and heir, Jong-un, amidst an unprecedented third-generation power transition in a communist state.
The leader-in-waiting was promoted to four-star general and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party in September.
South Korea wants North Korea to apologize for the sinking of the Cheonan and show its commitment to denuclearization before returning to the six-party talks, which have been in limbo since early last year due to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests.
U.S. President Barack Obama "admires" South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's "leadership" and "the way he has handled very difficult issues regarding North Korea, including the very tragic sinking of the Cheonan," Hammer said. "North Korea needs to satisfy South Korea's concerns regarding that tragic incident."
South Korea and the U.S. have in recent months conducted a series of joint naval drills in the Yellow and East seas in response to the Cheonan's sinking, but delayed the exercises scheduled for early this month ahead of the summit of leaders of the 20 leading economies in Seoul next week.
The U.S. was expected to send its super carrier USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea despite China's objections to the drills in waters off South Korea's shores.
Beijing has conducted its own series of high-profile naval and air drills in the South China and East China seas in an apparent response, amid concerns over a growing Sino-U.S. rivalry in East Asia.
Geoff Morrell, Pentagon's spokesman, reiterated Washington's pledge to conduct the delayed drills.
"We've been trying to work out the next appropriate date for us to jointly exercise in the Yellow Sea with the USS George Washington," Morrell told a separate briefing. "We are still working on that date, but rest assured, we will do so with that aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea. This notion of cancelled, I think, is just hyperbolic. You've got a lot of moving parts here when it comes to a large joint exercise, particularly one involving an aircraft carrier."
Obama will have a one-on-one meeting with Lee in Seoul next week on the margins of an economic summit of the leaders of 20 major economies.
Obama, who embarks Friday on a 10-day trip that will also bring him to India, Indonesia and Japan, will also meet bilaterally with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Seoul and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Yokohama, Japan.
North Korea will be a major topic during Obama's meetings with the Asian leaders, all partners of the six-party talks, Hammer said.
"Clearly, there will be consultations with our partners and we will continue to work on this process," Hammer said. "Much of this depends on the attitude of North Korea. It needs to realize if it wants to enter into the community of nations it must address and stand by international obligations."
The spokesman said he did not want to "get ahead of whatever conversations President Obama and President Lee will have.