Obama warns tougher sanctions against nuclear N. Korea
US President Barack Obama warned N. Korea of sanctions if it went ahead with a fourth nuclear test.
SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea will gain nothing by making threats, US President Barack Obama said Friday, warning it of sanctions with "more bite" if it went ahead with a fourth nuclear test.
Speaking in South Korea as satellite images revealed the North could be preparing for an underground explosion, Obama stressed that Washington and Seoul stood "shoulder to shoulder" in their refusal to accept a nuclear North Korea.
Even China, the North s only major ally, was becoming alienated by its provocative behaviour, he said on the second leg of an Asian tour.
"Threats will get North Korea nothing, other than greater isolation," Obama said at a joint press conference with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
"China is beginning to recognise that North Korea is not just a nuisance but a significant problem for their own security," he added.
Underlining its status as global outlaw, Pyongyang said late Friday that it was holding a US citizen for "rash behaviour" while passing through immigration.
In a brief despatch, official news agency KCNA said the American, whom it identified as Miller Matthew Todd, 24, had been taken into custody on April 10.
The two-week delay in announcing the incident suggested it was timed to coincide with Obama s visit.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington was aware of the reports of the arrest of a US citizen, but she had no additional information.
"We have been in touch with the embassy of Sweden about these reports," she told journalists, adding that "there s no greater priority to us than the welfare and safety of US citizens."
Washington has no diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, and the Swedish embassy there usually acts on its behalf in cases involving US citizens.
