The US and Korean navies patrolled the Yellow Sea off the coast of Korea in a show of force meant to underline the US committment to South Korea after the deadly shelling of a South Korean island last week. China repeated a call 1 December for a resumption of the six-party talks between the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the USA and is urging calm. Russia seconds the Chinese government’s call, but the USA says that there is no point “in stabilizing the region through a series of P.R. activities.” A top North Korean official has travelled to Beijing for talks.
China has refrained from criticizing North Korea’s shelling, and is blocking UN Security Council attempts to censure North Korea. The USA hopes that the naval exercises will put pressure on China to bring its ally North Korea into line.
Links to other sites: BBC, Bloomberg
Source: RT News
North and South Korea will hold talks this week on preventing flooding along their common border and on family reunions, despite signs that North Korea will test more missiles. The news comes a day after the North fired five short-range KN-02 surface-to-surface test missiles 12 October. The government in Seoul condemned the launches, saying they violated several UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korea agreed last week to resume six-party talks to resolve the question of the North’s illegal nuclear programme if Washington DC agrees to bilateral talks first.
The need for talks between the two Koreas became more urgent after North Korea opened a dam 6 September and released millions of tonnes of water which swept away six people south of the border. BBC, Romandie News
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is reported by North Korean media to have told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao his country is willing to return to 6-party talks. First, however, progress must be made in bilateral talks with the US, according to media reports. The US says it wants North Korea to agree to a complete denuclearization on the penninsula. The Chinese leader has just rreturned to Beijing after a three-day visit to North Korea. The six-party talks broke down earlier in 2009.
Links to other sites: BBC video showing celebrations of 60 years of ties with China, NPR, Xinhua
