Clinton repeats U.S. commitment to Japan, South Korea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed on Wednesday U.S. commitments to allies Japan and South Korea in the face of North Korean threats and said she hoped Pyongyang could return to talks on abandoning its nuclear programs.

Speaking at a news conference, Clinton also said that North Korea, which conducted its second nuclear test on Monday, was behaving in a provocative and belligerent manner toward its neighbors and there were consequences to such behavior.

"I want to underscore the commitments that the United States has and intends always to honor for the defense of South Korea and Japan," Clinton said in response to a question.

"We hope that there will be an opportunity for North Korea to come back into a framework of discussion within the six-party process and that we can begin, once again, to see results from working with the North Koreans toward denuclearization (of the Korean Peninsula)," she added.

Under the six-party talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, North Korea agreed in 2005 to abandon its nuclear programs. It has subsequently conducted two nuclear tests, one in October 2006 and a stronger one this week.

(Editing by Sandra Maler)