Clinton in Seoul for crisis talks on NKorea

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has arrived in Seoul for crisis talks with South Korean leaders as tensions between North and South Korea have soared to their highest point in a decade.

Amid fears of conflict, Clinton touched down in the South Korean capital on Wednesday local time after intense discussions on the deteriorating situation with Chinese officials in Beijing.

Clinton will spend just a few hours in Seoul discussing possible international responses to the crisis that started last week when investigators blamed North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship. The North denies it was responsible and has threatened to retaliate if action is taken against it.

Clinton: Iran nuclear fuel swap offer is 'ploy'

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says an Iranian plan to swap some of its enriched uranium for reactor fuel is a "transparent ploy" to try to avoid new U.N. Security Council sanctions over its suspect nuclear program.

Speaking in the Chinese capital of Beijing, Clinton said Tuesday the swap offer submitted to the U.N. nuclear watchdog has a number of deficiencies and does not address international concerns about Iran's atomic ambitions.

She said the U.S.-led push for fresh Security Council penalties on Iran would continue.

The U.S. and other Western countries accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian atomic energy program. Iran denies the charge but has repeatedly refused to prove that its program is peaceful.