China notifies Seoul it won’t support UN bid

The Chinese government notified South Korea that it won't support Seoul's bid at the U.N. Security Council to slap punitive measures against North Korea with regard to the Cheonan issue, a news outlet said.

Although diplomats from South Korea and China met in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss the Cheonan matter, the Chinese side expressed to the South that it doesn't see any reason to support a U.N. Security Council measure that would destabilize the Korean Peninsula, RFA said on Friday, citing a diplomatic source in Washington.

During the meeting, a Chinese diplomat also said: "As you can see from the past roles played by China at the U.N. Security Council, China has worked to solve issues, by first judging what is right and what is wrong. China pursues the stability in East Asia," adding there is little possibility that China is likely to support the South's bid, the diplomatic source said.

After returning from Beijing, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Chun Yung-woo said there are areas for "further discussions" between South Korea and China, RFA said.

On Monday in New York, South Korea plans to brief U.N. Security Council members on the Cheonan incident, but RFA said there is little chance that China is going to show up at the briefing.