SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Resisting pressure from South Korean and Japanese leaders during two days of talks, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gave no public hint on Sunday that his government was ready to join in reproaching North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Instead, in a joint news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Wen said that China's top priority was still ensuring stability and avoiding tensions and a possible military clash between the two Koreas.
Wen did offer condolences for the 46 South Korean sailors killed in the March 26 sinking of the ship, the Cheonan, which an international team of investigators has blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack.
North Korea has strenuously denied accusations that it sank the Cheonan, calling them a fiction concocted by South Korea and its main military ally, the United States. The sinking has elevated tension on the Korean peninsula to the worst level in many years, and North Korea has said any retaliation could lead to war.
"Most urgent is to dispel the impact of the Cheonan incident, gradually ease tension and especially avoid a clash," Wen said on the South Korean resort island of Jeju, which hosted the summit meeting. "We must put all our efforts without fail to boost peace and stability in northeast Asia. Without this, we cannot talk about development, and the achievements we have made with difficulty will evaporate."
During the talks, Lee argued that letting North Korea go unpunished for the Cheonan sinking and its development of nuclear weapons is tantamount to turning a blind eye to the biggest threat to the peace and economic and political stability China champions, according to his aides.
In Pyongyang, 100,000 North Koreans rallied Sunday to denounce South Korea and the United States for "fabricating" evidence about the Cheonan sinking to create an excuse to start war, the North's state-run news media reported.
Speakers at the rally urged North Koreans to be "ready for combat."
