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ByJuliePace TheAssociatedPress SEOUL, SOUth KOrEa Lessthan an hour after arriving in South Ko- rea, President Barack Obama sol- emnly laid a wreath at a memo- rial honoring Americans killed in the Korean War. On Saturday, he'll speak to some of the 28,000 American service members sta - tioned here and hold a rare joint security briefing with South Ko- rea's president. Obama's itinerary is aimed at showcasing the U.S. military's deep ties to the region at a time when Asia is warily watching Chi - na's growing military prowess and North Korea's unpredictable nu- clear efforts. "Obviously we come here at a time when there has been provoc- ative language from North Korea, and it's important for us to show complete solidarity with our ally, the Republic of Korea, in standing up to those provocations," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. Obama arrived in South Korea on Friday, the second stop on his four-country swing through Asia. After events in Seoul on Saturday, the president will travel to Malay - sia, where he'll attend a dinner with the royal family. Even as Obama pressed his se- curity agenda in South Korea, he paid tribute to victims from last week's ferry disaster. The vast ma- jority of the 300 dead or missing were students from a single high school near Seoul. The president also has had to attend to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, as a fragile accord with Russia aimed at stemming ten - sions appears to have crumbled. Obama spoke by telephone with European leaders to discuss the possibility of deepening economic sanctions on Russia, though it ap - peared unlikely that new penalties would be imposed on Friday. Despite the distractions of other issues, the president's core mission in Seoul is to underscore the U.S. commitment to the secu - rity of South Korea and other al- lies during a period of uncertainty in the region. While the U.S. has long been the most powerful mil- itary influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Pentagon spending is being slashed at the same time China has been boosting its defense budget. Beijing still lags far behind the U.S. in both military funding and technology. But its spending boom is attracting new scrutiny at a time of severe cuts in U.S. defense bud - gets that have some questioning Washington's commitments to its Asian allies, including some who have lingering disputes with China. At the same time, the U.S. mil - itary is seeking to redirect re- sources to the Asia-Pacific as it draws down its commitment in Af- ghanistan, though there is concern that budget cuts could threaten plans to base 60 percent of U.S. naval assets in the region. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jona - than Greenert recently warned that U.S. capabilities to project power "would not stay ahead" of potential adversaries, given the fis - cal restraints. The U.S. military continues to have a robust presence in South Korea, in part to serve as a deter - rent to the North. Obama on Fri- day declared the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea "a linch- pin of security in Asia." "Our solidarity is bolstered by the courage of our service mem- bers, both Korean and American, who safeguard this nation," Obama said during a news conference Fri- day with South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Ahead of his meetings with Park, Obama paid tribute to U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War. He placed a wreath beside a plaque bearing the names of some of those killed as a bugler played out taps. Obama will speak Saturday at Yongsan Garrison, headquarters for U.S. forces in South Korea. Before his remarks, Obama and Park will have a rare joint lead - ers briefing with the commander of the U.S-South Korea Combined Forces Command. Both countries are closely watching North Korea, which has threatened to conduct its fourth nuclear test. Obama and Park both warned Friday that the launch could lead to tougher sanctions, with Park also declaring that it could trigger an undesirable nu - clear arms race in the region and render further nuclear negotia- tions pointless. The website 38 North, which closely monitors North Korea, said commercial satellite imag - ery from Wednesday showed in- creased movement of vehicles and materials near what are be- lieved to be the entrances to two completed tunnels at Punggye-ri nuclear test site. The movements could be preparations for an un - derground atomic explosion, al- though predicting underground tests is notoriously difficult. wOrLd Obama highlights deep US military ties in Asia CarolynKaster—theassoCiatedPress U.s. President Barack obama speaks as south Korean President Park Geun-hye looks on in a joint news conference at the Blue house Friday in seoul, south Korea. News feed hartFOrd,CONN. A 16-year- old girl was stabbed to death inside a Connecticut high school Friday, and police were investigating whether a boy attacked her because she turned down an invitation to be his prom date. Maren Sanchez was stabbed in a hallway of Jon - athan Law High School in Milford, about an hour's drive from New York City, around 7:15 a.m. Staff mem - bers and paramedics per- formed life-saving measures on the girl, but she was pro- nounced dead at a hospital, police said. The 16-year-old boy was taken into custody. His name wasn't released be - cause of juvenile offender laws, said Police Chief Keith Mello. Imani Langston, who de - scribes herself as one of Sanchez's best friends, said students were gath- ered in an auditorium when a teacher came and told them had Sanchez been stabbed. The dance was sched - uled for Friday night but was postponed because of the stabbing. — The Associated Press SChOOL Prom-daterejection investigated in killing The official Korean Cen- tral News Agency identified the man as Miller Matthew Todd — possibly putting his surname first — and said he entered the country on April 10 with a tourist visa, but tore it up and shouted that he wanted to seek asy - lum. The brief report said he chose the North "as a shel- ter." It said he was detained for "gross violation" of North Korea's legal order and was being investigated. It gave no further details. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Fri - day that the U.S. is aware of the report, but she did not confirm an American was being held. She said the de - partment is in touch with the Swedish Embassy which handles consular cases for the U.S. because Washington does not have diplomatic re - lations with Pyongyang. A large number of for- eign tourists were in North Korea in mid-April to see events held for the anni- versary of national founder Kim Il Sung's April 15 birthday. — The Associated Press wOrLd North Korea detains American tourist waShINGtON The Palestin- ian Authority's latest push to establish a reconciliation gov- ernment with the militant groupHamasjeopardizeshun- dreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid that the self-ruling body has consistently received for nearly two decades. Congressional Republi - cans and Democrats sig- naled that any permanent arrangement between the Western-backed Palestin- ian Authority and Hamas, the U.S.-designated terror- ist organization that has called for the destruction of Israel, would force the United States to end some $400 million in economic and security aid provided annually. The leaders of the House Appropriations subcommit - tee that oversees foreign aid — Reps. Kay Granger, R- Texas, and Nita Lowey, D- N.Y. — said the agreement clearly threatens the money the Palestinian Authority has grown accustomed to re - ceiving. Since the mid-1990s, the United States has provided some $5 billion in bilateral aid to the Palestinians. — The Associated Press mIddLE EaSt Palestinian pact with Hamas threatens aid BaGhdad At least three ex- plosions tore through a cam- paign rally Friday for a mil- itant Shiite group in Iraq's capital ahead of next week's parliamentary election, kill- ing at least 31 people, author- ities said. The blasts, one of which was the work of a suicide bomber driving a white van, struck as some 10,000 sup - porters of Asaib Ahl al-Haq gathered at the Industrial Stadium in eastern Baghdad for the rally of the Iranian- backed group. The afternoon event was organized to in - troduce the organization's candidates for Wednesday's vote. An al-Qaida breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, claimed responsibility for the attack. It said in a statement posted on a militant website that the bombings aimed to avenge what it called the killing of Sunnis and their forced re - moval from their homes by Shiite militias. The attack provided a stark reminder of the sectarian vio - lence that's plagued Iraq more than two years after U.S. troops left the country. — The Associated Press Iraq Attack on Shiite campaign rally kills 31 JaSCE, POLaNd In imagi- nary emergency drills, Pol- ish security forces evacuated the Interior Ministry and res- cued foreigners supposedly injured in a cross-border he- licopter crash as part of Po- land's first nationwide mili- tary-style security exercises for decades. Responding to reports of a helicopter crash, police and firefighters rushed to res - cue people playing the roles of two pilots and a passenger injured when they crashed in the woods near the village of Jasce. The three-day exercise in - volves the police, military, firefighters, border guards and medical services. It's be- ing held at a time of conflict between Ukraine and Rus- sia, which both border Po- land and has raised anxiety in Poland. The goal is to test Poland's reaction to life-and-death scenarios and identify areas for improvement. The emer - gency services are being challenged with 30 fictional threats, including renegade aircraft and radiation leaks. About 3,000 people are in - volved. — The Associated Press EUrOPE Poland holds rare big security exercise By Jim heintz The Associated Press mOSCOw Russia's economy felt the sting of the Ukrai- nian crisis Friday as a ratings agency cut its credit rating to near junk and Moscow hiked interest rates to keep its slid - ing ruble from fueling inflation. The impact could get harder astheWestthreatensadditional sanctions. Still, Russia is show - ing no signs of backing down, saying Friday that pro-Russian insurgents in Ukraine's south- east will lay down their arms only if the Ukrainian govern- ment clears out nationalist pro- testers in Kiev, the capital. The soaring prosperity that has been a cornerstone of Pres- ident Vladimir Putin's popu- larity already had been head- ing for a slowdown before the Ukraine crisis hit, as Russian oil and gas exports slowed and the country's reliance on ex - tractive industries remained high. But the uncertainty ig- nited by the Ukraine crisis and WesternsanctionsagainstRus- sia worsened the problem. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit grade for Russia on Friday for the first time in five years, say - ing the tensions over Ukraine were causing investors to pull money out of the country. Cap- ital flight from Russia in the first three months of this year totaled about $70 billion — more than all of 2013. The United States and the European Union imposed sanc - tions on Russia after it annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula inMarch. Despite thesanctions and international denunciation, the annexation appears to be a done deal. Now the focus is on eastern Ukraine, where armed pro-Russia insurgents have seized police stations and gov - ernment buildings in at least 10 cities and towns, allegedly with Russianparticipationorconniv- ance. A resolution to the unrest in eastern Ukraine is appear- ing elusive. The agreement reached last week in Geneva between Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the European Union called for all illegal armed groups to lay down their weap - ons and leave illegally seized buildings and public spaces. But Russian Foreign Min- ister Sergey Lavrov declared Friday that the pro-Russia in- surgents in eastern Ukraine will only lay down their arms if the Ukrainian government clears out the Maidan pro - test camp in Kiev and vacates buildings occupied by activ- ists there. UKraINE Russian credit takes a nosedive NEWS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, april 26, 2014 More at FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS and TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4