SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama urged China on Sunday to use its influence to rein in North Korea instead of “turning a blind eye” to its nuclear defiance, and warned of tighter sanctions if the reclusive state goes ahead with a rocket launch next month.

“North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations,” a stern-faced Obama said after a tour of the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas resonant with echoes of the Cold War.

SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday urged China to use its influence to stop North Korea’s “bad behavior” in a nuclear standoff with the West and hinted at tougher sanctions if the reclusive state goes ahead with a rocket launch next month.

Such a launch would only further isolate the impoverished North, which much show its sincerity if on-again-off-again six-party aid-for-disarmament talks are to restart, Obama said.

SEOUL, March 25 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama on
Sunday urged China to use its influence to stop North Korea’s
“bad behaviour” in a nuclear standoff with the West and hinted
at tougher sanctions if the reclusive state goes ahead with a
rocket launch next month.

Such a launch would only further isolate the impoverished
North, which much show its sincerity if on-again-off-again
six-party aid-for-disarmament talks are to restart, Obama said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, seeking to increase pressure on North Korea to abandon its atomic weapons, will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on South Korea’s tense border on Sunday before a nuclear security summit in Seoul.

Obama’s visit to the border will be a strong show of support for South Korea, the White House said on Tuesday, sending a message to the North as Washington builds an international effort to get stalled nuclear disarmament talks back on track.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shortly after taking office, President Barack Obama set the goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency and pledged dramatic steps to lead the way.

But after plenty of lofty rhetoric and a few steps forward, Obama is facing fresh doubts about whether he is willing to take the political, diplomatic and budgetary risks needed to bring his vision closer to reality.

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama
accused Iran o n T uesday of imposing an “electronic curtain” on
its citizens and promised new U.S. steps aimed at helping to
ease the Iranian people’s access to the Internet and social
media.

Speaking directly to ordinary Iranians in a video message
marking Nowruz, the Persian new year celebration, Obama
acknowledged “continued tensions between our two countries,”
which stem mostly from Iran’s defiance over its nuclear program.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shortly after taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama set the goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency and pledged dramatic steps to lead the way.

But after lofty rhetoric and a few steps forward, Obama is facing fresh doubts about whether he is willing to take the political, diplomatic and budgetary risks that may be needed to bring his vision closer to reality.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron presented a unified front on Wednesday, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Iran and Syria and stay the course in Afghanistan even as they papered over differences on economic strategies.

Amid the pomp and ceremony of a state visit, Obama and Cameron called each other by their first names and stressed solidarity in the face of global security challenges that have tested the much-vaunted alliance between their two countries.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama clashed with Republican presidential contenders on Tuesday over how to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions, accusing them in the harshest terms yet of “beating the drums of war” while failing to consider the consequences.

The Republicans, competing to be the most hawkish on Iran and favorable to Israel before the powerful pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, blasted Obama for a policy they said was too weak in backing the Jewish state and confronting Tehran.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Benjamin Netanyahu assured President Barack Obama on Monday that Israel has not made any decision on attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, sources close to the talks said, but the Israeli prime minister gave no sign of backing away from possible military action.

With Obama appealing for more time to allow international sanctions to work against Tehran, the two men agreed to keep up their coordination on the issue, but differences remained on how to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.