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US President Barack Obama has demanded the United Nations and China ramp up pressure on North Korea for its "belligerent behaviour" and warned against turning a blind eye to its deadly acts.
Using the global stage of a G20 summit here, Obama said the international community had to act and stand by South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.
The 15-nation UN Security Council must ensure there is "a crystal clear acknowledgement that North Korea engaged in belligerent behaviour that is unacceptable to the international community," Obama insisted.
He was speaking just a day after G8 leaders issued a strong condemnation of the alleged North Korean sinking of a South Korean warship near the disputed Yellow Sea border in March.
A multinational investigation earlier this month found the isolated Stalinist state had torpedoed the 1,200-tonne Cheonan, leading to the deaths of 46 sailors.
But North Korea has angrily rejected the charges, instead accusing the United States of being behind the incident and warning of military reprisals if it is slapped with any sanctions.
The United States and Seoul have led a push for a UN censure of Pyongyang for the sinking of warship, but the Security Council has yet to issue a formal condemnation.
Obama said he believed South Korean President Lee "has shown extraordinary restraint" and said the world needed to ensure that Pyongyang comes back to six-party talks on its suspect nuclear programme.
