South Korea Lee says no possibility of war in Korea

Seoul, Agencies
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday dismissed the likelihood of a war breaking out on the Korean peninsula, while pledging to clamp down on any action by the North deemed threatening.

"There is no possibility of a war. There has been occasionally and locally peace-threatening behavior (from the North) but we will strongly suppress it," Lee's spokesman, contacted by telephone, quoted him as saying at a meeting with businessmen in Singapore.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of a security conference in the city state.

Tensions on the divided Korean peninsula have mounted since Lee blamed North Korea for torpedoing a navy vessel of the South in March which killed 46 sailors.

The North denies responsibility and said this week war could break out at any moment.

On Friday, South Korea took its dispute with North Korea to the U.N. Security Council, saying Pyongyang must acknowledge that it sank the warship and that its "reprehensible" action was endangering peace.