China slams US South Korea naval drills

An aircraft (rear) takes off on the flight deck of the US
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier during the US-South
Korea joint naval and air exercise on the open seas east
of South Korea.



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138577§ionid=351020404


A senior Chinese official has strongly condemned the second round of joint US-South Korea naval exercises.

Rear Admiral Yang Yi wrote in a commentary published in Friday edition of China Daily that the drills are a fresh provocation "to China and its surrounding region."

He said Washington will pay a "costly price" for its decision to participate in new military exercises near China.

"On the one hand, it wants China to play a role in regional security issues. On the other hand, it is engaging in an increasingly tight encirclement of China and constantly challenging China's core interests," Yang said.

The drills are the second US-South Korean war games recently conducted close to Chinese waters.

In July, the US and South Korea conducted massive joint sea and air drills. Those exercises were also condemned by Beijing.

China has already reduced its military cooperation with the Pentagon over the 6.4-billion-dollar US arms sales to Taiwan. China considers the island as part of its territory.

Seoul says the drills come in response to the North's alleged torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March, which claims 46 lives.

Pyongyang denies any involvement in the sinking of the warship.

North Korea's military has described the war games as a direct military invasion.

North Korean special train arrives in China

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122329§ionid=351020405


A special train, possibly carrying the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has entered the border city of Dandong in Liaoning Province in northeastern China.

The train that arrived in Dandong at about 2:50 a.m. local time (18:50 GMT Friday) on Saturday appeared to be carrying Kim but could also be an advance train preceding his trip, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The North Korean leader rarely travels abroad and only under tight security. He last visited China in January 2006.

Kim's possible trip to North Korea's most important ally and biggest aid provider, China, comes as the United States and regional powers are trying to win Pyongyang's willingness to return to six-party talks and resume the stalled multilateral negotiations aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

The six-party talks, involving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), the United States, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan and Russia, have been frozen since April last year.

Pyongyang has set two conditions for its return to the talks: Lifting UN sanctions against it and holding peace talks aimed at formally ending the 1950-1953 Korean War.

But Washington, Seoul and Tokyo say Pyongyang must first return to the talks and show notable progress before its conditions can be considered.