Factbox: Reaction to South Korea boat sinking report

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Thursday accused the North of sinking a navy warship, the Cheonan, last March, killing 46 South Korean sailors, saying the evidence was overwhelming.

This is how the world reacted:

NORTH KOREA

The South's findings were a fabrication "orchestrated by the group of traitors in a deliberate and brigandish manner to achieve certain political and military aims," the National Defense Commission said in a rare statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

"Our army and people will promptly react to any 'punishment' and 'retaliation' and to any 'sanctions' infringing upon our state interests with various forms of tough measures including an all-out war."

SOUTH KOREA

"We will be taking firm, responsive measures against the North, and through international cooperation, we have to make the North admit its wrongdoing and come back as a responsible member of the international community," President Lee Myung-bak told Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, according to the presidential office.

CHINA

"The Cheonan incident was a very unfortunate incident," Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said. "The people of this region share the hope that this incident can be appropriately handled to protect the stability of the Korean Peninsula. This suits the interests of each country's people."

UNITED STATES

"Such unacceptable behavior only deepens North Korea's isolation," the White House said in a statement. "It reinforces the resolve of its neighbors to intensify their cooperation to safeguard peace and stability in the region against all provocations.

"...This attack constitutes a challenge to international peace and security and is a violation of the Armistice Agreement."

JAPAN

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said it was important for South Korea, the United States and Japan to be on the same page and what was necessary now was to react "calmly and firmly".

"It would be difficult to have the six-party talks if the situation stays as it is now," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told a news conference, referring to talks aimed at reining in North Korea's nuclear program.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in a statement: "North Korea's action is hard to forgive and we strongly condemn it along with the international community."

UNITED NATIONS

"The secretary-general has learned of the results of the investigation into the sinking of the Cheonan naval ship of the Republic of Korea with a heavy heart and serious concern," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's press office said in a statement.

"The facts laid out in the report are deeply troubling. As secretary-general of the United Nations, he will continue to closely follow developments."

BRITAIN

"(North Korea's) actions will deepen the international community's mistrust," Foreign Secretary William Hague said. "The attack demonstrates a total indifference to human life and a blatant disregard of international obligations. The UK and international partners are committed to working closely with the Republic of Korea as they consider an appropriate multilateral response to this callous act."

AUSTRALIA

"The key findings of the investigation are deeply disturbing," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said. "This hostile and unprovoked act represents a flagrant violation by North Korea of the United Nations (UN) Charter and the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement.

"The international community cannot let this act pass without an appropriate response."

KENNETH BOUTIN, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY'S INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION

"It is possible that the attack on the Cheonan, which is provocative even by North Korean standards, signals the growing influence of more hard-line leaders in North Korea as the struggle to succeed Kim Jong-il continues. This has serious implications for efforts to address North Korea's nuclear weapons program and for security in the Korean peninsula region in general."

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Alex Richardson)