yahoo | SEOUL, South Korea – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday the world must respond to the sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on North Korea.

"This was an unacceptable provocation by North Korea, and the international community has a responsibility and a duty to respond," Clinton told reporters after talks with South Korean leaders.

The ship sinking "requires a strong but measured response," she said at a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, though she did not elaborate.

Clinton said the United States would be consulting with South Korea and members of the U.N. Security Council on what the appropriate action would be, but she declined to offer a timeline.

"We're very confident in the South Korean leadership, and their decision about how and when to move forward is one that we respect and will support," she said.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen sharply since a team of international investigators last week concluded that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the corvette Cheonan on March 26. It killed 46 South Korean sailors and was one of the South's worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Clinton spent just a few hours in Seoul discussing possible international responses with South Korean leaders. North Korea denies it was to blame and has threatened any attempt to punish it could lead to war.

Clinton arrived in the South Korean capital Wednesday after intense discussions on the deteriorating Korean situation with Chinese officials in Beijing.

"I believe that the Chinese understand the seriousness of this issue and are willing to listen to the concerns expressed by both South Korea and the United States," she said. "We expect to be working with China as we move forward in fashioning a response."

China, the North's biggest ally, says it is still weighing the evidence over the sinking