U.S. to send stern message to North Korea

By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's top diplomat and defence chief head to Seoul this week to discuss ways to respond to North Korea and deter it from any future attack after the sinking of a South Korean warship.

But the high-profile visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates risks angering China in the process, with an expected announcement of U.S.-South Korean military exercises that have set off alarms in Beijing.

Tension between North and South Korea remain high following the March sinking of the warship, Cheonan, killing 46 South Korean sailors. Pyongyang has denied responsibility and escaped censure this month from the United Nations, which condemned the attack but, in deference to China, did not blame North Korea.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the talks in Seoul were aimed at assessing the next steps with North Korea, including whether and how to resume stalled talks about Pyongyang's nuclear program. Pyongyang said this month it was willing to return to disarmament talks, in limbo since 2007.

"The United States is considering a variety of options associated with North Korea and we will be in deep consultations," Campbell said.

But he stressed that an essential precondition for any new talks would be that Pyongyang cease its "provocative ways" and commit to denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Victor Cha, a former director of Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council under the Bush administration, said he expected that re-engagement will take a back seat to the main message of deterrence during the visit to Seoul.

"Right now on this trip the focus is going to be on the deterrence part, that will be the big public message ... But privately, the conversations will also deal with getting these talks back on track," said Cha, who works for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.