US has uphill struggle in China talks

May 24, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

BEIJING

The U.S. hasn’t swayed China yet on the need to punish North Korea and Iran heading into high-level talks between American and Chinese officials on greater security and economic cooperation, a senior Obama administration official said Sunday.

With the two-day meetings beginning today, the two powers haven’t settled on how to deal with North Korea, blamed for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, the official said.

While an international report has found the North responsible, China isn’t convinced, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the conversation at a private dinner hosted by State Councilor Dai Bingguo for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A second stalemate involves specifics about new U.N. penalties against Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

It’s evident the U.S. faces a struggle in securing China’s cooperation on both issues, expected to be the subject of intense consultations during the Beijing sessions. Clinton and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are leading their delegation.

At the dinner, the official said, the American side made clear how serious the U.S. and its allies South Korea and Japan take the sinking of the Cheonan on March 26, killing 46 sailors in the South’s worst military disaster since a truce ended the Korean War in 1953.

An international team of civilian and military investigators said in a report Thursday that a North Korean submarine fired a homing torpedo at the ship, ripping it in two. North Korea has denied any role.

The Americans also told the Chinese that it was important to work closely on the matter, which the U.S. and South Korea contend amounts to a breach of the Korean armistice. South Korea was expected to announce today that it will take the issue to the U.N. Security Council.