Obama squeezes N. Korea to change, China to help

Source: Excite-AP

By BEN FELLER

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Trying to muscle North Korea toward peace over provocation, President Barack Obama is broadening his squeeze play from the heart of this tensely divided peninsula, pressuring China to show more influence and warning North Korea that it is headed toward a crippling "dead end" of isolation.

From this capital teeming with pride, Obama sought for a second day Monday to contrast the success of the South to the impoverished North, whose nuclear and missile tests have kept its neighbor on edge and itself on the wrong side of the world community. Already, he said, looking into the North from near the border was like witnessing a "time warp" of despair.

In a speech at Hankuk University, one of Seoul's top-ranked schools, Obama will campaign against the spread of nuclear material and weaponry with North Korea's shadow figuring large. The North plans to launch a satellite with a long-range rocket next month against fierce objections from world powers, as the same technology could be used to fire a missile.

Obama will also try to build diplomatic force by turning to China, North Korea's main ally, when he meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao. That conversation is among a flurry of engagements for Obama, including a final meeting with departing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, on the sidelines of a major Nuclear Security Summit.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120325/D9TNKNS80.html

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U.S. President Barack Obama, left, looks at South Korean President Lee Myung-bak during their joint news conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)