SEOUL, Feb 20: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned North Korea on Friday to stop its provocative acts, saying its “war of words” with the South would not help it forge a new relationship with Washington.

Mrs Clinton, who suggested the North’s bellicose rhetoric stems from a possible power struggle, told reporters in Seoul that any threatened missile launch by the communist state would be in breach of UN resolutions.

On her first foreign trip as the chief US diplomat, she also named Stephen Bosworth to oversee Washington’s North Korea policy — a new high-level post designed to press Pyongyang on nuclear disarmament and human rights.

Speaking in a tougher tone than usual after talking to her South Korean counterpart Yu Myung-Hwan, Mrs Clinton urged the North to live up to commitments under a six-nation pact and dismantle its nuclear weapons programme.

She said the development of democracy and prosperity in South Korea was “in stark contrast to the tyranny and poverty across the border to the North.” She praised Seoul’s resolve and determination “in face of the provocative and unhelpful statements and actions by the North.”

“North Korea is not going to get a different relationship with the United States while insulting and refusing dialogue with the Republic of Korea,” she said, using the official name for the South.

Analysts suspect Pyongyang is taking a tougher stance as it competes for US President Barack Obama’s attention with other world hot spots.

“We are calling on the government of North Korea to refrain from being provocative and unhelpful in a war of words that it has been engaged in, because that is not very fruitful,” Mrs Clinton added.

She has been unusually candid on her trip here in suggesting the North is playing hard amid a possible struggle to succeed leader Kim Jong-Il, who is widely believed to have suffered a stroke last August.

“When you are thinking about the future dealings with a government that doesn’t have a clear succession... there is something there to think about,” she said.

“But we are dealing with the government that exists right now. That government is being asked to re-engage with the six-party talks to fulfil the obligations they agreed to. We expect them to do so.”

Mrs Clinton reportedly said Washington had no plans yet for top-level contact with North Korea, despite Mr Obama’s stated willingness to talk to US enemies on certain conditions.

North Korea carried out its first nuclear test in October 2006. It later agreed to disable its atomic programme in return for energy aid and diplomatic concessions.

However the six-nation talks, which group the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, have been stalled since December amid arguments over how to verify denuclearisation.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen sharply in the past year, with Pyongyang taking an increasingly belligerent stance toward the conservative government in Seoul.

Seoul warned on Friday that it would target North Korean launch sites if its ships came under missile attack in the Yellow Sea, a day after the North said an armed clash could break out at any time.

Later, Mrs Clinton arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders.—AFP

Reuters adds: The United States will press China on human rights but this will not keep them from working together on the financial crisis, climate change and North Korea, Mrs Clinton said.