MIXED MESSAGES

Korea Rules Out War with North

But still promises "consequences."

Even as his government pressed the United Nations to punish North Korea, South Korea’s leader dismissed the possibility of war over the sinking of a South Korean warship. "There is absolutely no possibility of a full-scale war on the Korean peninsula," President Lee Myung-bak said. He added that “occasionally, there has been locally peace-threatening behavior” from the neighbor to the North and, without elaborating, that "we will strongly suppress it." In the face of much saber rattling from the North, it was the first time any of the parties involved has ruled out an armed conflict since North Korea allegedly torpedoed the Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors. Still, Lee spoke in fierce terms of “consequences” for the North’s actions, leaving a mixed impression on his audience in Singapore. "If the enemy continues to taunt us and think that they can do whatever they want they must understand that there is a limit," he said.