Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, yesterday said the US would offer additional briefings and information to China to convince it that North Korea torpedoed a South Korean warship, killing 46 sailors.
Beijing's response to the sinking in March has been guarded and this makes it less likely South Korea will be able to marshal support for tougher sanctions at the United Nations Security Council.
Mrs Clinton said a 400-page technical report on the sinking by an international team, including experts from the US, led to the “inescapable” conclusion North Korea was to blame and that action had to be taken. Should the Chinese need more information, she said the US would offer it.