Kim Jong-il death: US consults key global allies on N Korea

Led by United States President Barack Obama, top American officials have reached out to key global leaders, including Japan, China, Russia and South Korea for stability of Korean Peninsula following the death of North Korea leader, Kim Jong-il. Obama himself called the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, on Monday night during which he reaffirmed the US' commitment to the stability of the Korean Peninsula.

White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney said the US was in touch with Russia and China on this issue. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department, during which the developments in North Korea dominated the proceedings.

"Today, the foreign minister and I discussed the evolving situation on the Korean Peninsula in light of the reports from North Korea's state-owned media on the death of Kim Jong-il.

"We both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in North Korea, as well as in ensuring regional peace and stability," Clinton told the media on the sidelines of the meeting.

Japanese Foreign Minister said that it was important to make sure that the latest events would not negatively affect the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. "For this purpose, we affirmed to closely monitor the situations concerned and to coordinate closely with each other by sharing information between Japan and the US, and among Japan, the US and the Republic of Korea," Gemba said.

Clinton also said that the US was in close touch with its partners in the six-party talks on Tuesday.   "US President Obama and South Korea President Lee spoke on Monday night. I spoke with Foreign Minister Kim. And we are also reaching out to Beijing and Moscow and of course closely coordinating with our Japanese friends," Clinton said.

"We reiterate our hope for improved relations with the people of North Korea and remain deeply concerned about their well-being," the US Secretary of State said.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta also called his South Korean counterpart and conveyed to him the strong US' commitment to peninsular stability and to their alliance. He made it clear that the US stands with the Republic of Korea in this time of uncertainty," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said. "Both men agreed that it was critical to remain prudent with respect to all matters related to our security posture there, and pledged to keep one another informed in the coming days," he said. The call lasted for about 15 minutes.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that the US was focusing on coordinating closely with its allies and partners. "We have reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to the stability of the Korean Peninsula and the security of our allies South Korea and Japan," he told reporters.

"The president, as you know, has had a very close working relationship with South Korean  President Lee, and spoke to him. In addition to that communication, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Panetta, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, they have all spoken to their counterparts in the Korean government, as have our team on the ground, including our  ambassador and the head of US Forces Korea," he said.

"In addition, we are in touch with Russia and China, the two other members of the six-party talks beyond North Korea. And President Obama has been regularly briefed on the situation. We are monitoring it. The succession that is in place has been in place for a considerable period of time now, and we're just closely monitoring the situation," he said.