North Korean leader in Russia for talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194860.html

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has arrived in Russia to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on various issues.

The North Korean leader will spend about a week in Russia to discuss energy cooperation, de-nuclearization and tensions with South Korea with Medvedev, AFP reported on Saturday.

A North Korean government source added that Kim will meet and confer with Medvedev in Ulan-Ude near Lake Baikal in Siberia on Tuesday.

This is Kim's first visit to Russia after about a decade since his previous public trip in 2002.

On Friday, Russia's foreign ministry said that 50,000 tons of grain will be sent to North Korea by the end of September.

Kim has already visited China three times seeking ways to alleviate the effect of devastating floods as well as the US-led economic sanctions on his country.

North Korea has called for the unconditional resumption of six-party talks involving China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea and the United States over nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula.

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula since November 2010 when an exchange of artillery fire left four South Koreans dead on a border island.

The North accuses US President Barack Obama of plotting with regional allies to topple the country's government, insisting that its nuclear program is a deterrent against US forces in the region.

US, South Korea begin joint military drills

South Korea and the United States on Monday morning kicked of their annual joint military drills amid continuing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167427.html

The US and South Korean militaries have launched their major military drills despite North Korea's warnings that the exercises could lead to an "all-out war.”

The 11-day Key Resolve/Foal Eagle drills are the first regularly scheduled joint drills between Seoul and Washington since a North Korean artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, which left two South Korean marines and two civilians dead.

Pyongyang has denounced the drills as a provocative move and a pretext to invade North Korea, while the US and South Korean officials say the exercise is defensive in nature, AFP reported.

The exercises focus on raising the allies' ability to defend against small, sudden attacks by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said the Combined Forces Command, adding that the drills are aimed at strengthening the allies' readiness against all potential threats.

However, the North's military on Sunday threatened to retaliate against the drills with a full-scale military attack that would turn Seoul into a "sea of fire.”

"If the aggressors launch provocation for a 'local war', the world will witness unprecedented all-out counteraction on the part of the army and people of the DPRK (North Korea)," the North Korean military said.

"It will also see such merciless counteraction as engulfing Seoul in sea of flames, whereby to smash every move for confrontation with unimaginable strategy and tactics."

A total of 12,300 US troops and some 200,000 service members, including reservists from South Korea, will participate in the joint military drills, according to officials.

In 2010, tension on the Korean Peninsula reached its highest level since the 1950s' Korean War.

On March 2, the 1,200-ton South Korean warship, Cheonan, sank near the inter-Korea maritime border, resulting in the deaths of 46 South Korean sailors.

Though Seoul accuses Pyongyang of involvement in the sinking of its warship, the latter rejects the claim.

North, South Korea agree to hold talks

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162346.html

North and South Koreans are meeting "to seek ways to move forward together as a people while overcoming the grave situation which has divided them."

A group called the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland sought dialogue between Pyongyang and Seoul, influencing North Korea to make the first contact with its southern neighbor.

South Koreans have accepted the invitation and are expected to meet their Northern counterparts on February 11th.

The initial meeting is designed to set the time and agenda for high-level military dialogue between the two Asian countries.

Tensions between the North and South escalated when on November 23rd a South Korean island was bombed, killing four people, including two civilians.

Last March, Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing a warship, killing 46 people on board, a charge which the North denies.

South Korea set a precondition for any high-level meeting in that North Korea would need to take “responsible measures” over last year's attack and vow not to repeat them.

US and Japan have expressed their interest in the talks with hopes of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, and later broadening multi-nation dialogue toward economic prosperity in the region.

“We've always stressed the importance of North-South dialogue as the necessary beginning of this process. So, I hope that the North takes advantage of this opportunity and demonstrates its sincerity," US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said.

Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara also pointed out that it is vital for the Seoul and Pyongyang to enter the dialogue.

"I believe that what is most important is that the North-South dialogue be opened up and also that in the tri-partite foreign ministers' meeting with regard to the 6-party talks and that the Chinese have been calling for, we would not reject that,” Maehara said.

China: No plans to send troops to North

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160530.html


China has denied reports that it plans to deploy troops in North Korea, saying Beijing will not send “a single soldier” to any country without the consent of the United Nations.

Beijing dismissed reports that it is in talks with Pyongyang on stationing Chinese troops over the border in South Korea, reported channelnewsasia.com.

"China will not send a single soldier to other countries without the approval of the UN," an official at the Chinese Defense Ministry, who refused to be named, was quoted as saying.

A South Korean newspaper on Saturday cited an official at the presidential Blue House as saying that Beijing and Pyongyang had discussed details of stationing Chinese soldiers in the North's city of Rason.

The anonymous official said the soldiers would protect China's port facilities in the city, and a senior security official was quoted as saying it would also allow China to intervene in case of North Korean instability.

Chinese troops have not been based in the North since 1994, when Beijing withdrew from the Military Armistice Commission that supervises the truce which ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Chinese Defense Ministry official said there were only a few conditions under which Chinese troops could be stationed abroad, such as peacekeeping missions and disaster rescue efforts approved by the United Nations.

China to send troops to North Korea: Report

Chinese troops

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160227.html


China and North Korea are reportedly discussing details of a plan allowing Chinese army forces to be deployed in the communist country for the first time in about two decades.

Citing an anonymous official at the presidential Blue House, the South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Saturday that the troops “would protect Chinese port facilities” in the Rason special economic zone near the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

"North Korea and China have discussed the issue of stationing a small number of Chinese troops to protect China-invested port facilities," the unnamed official told the newspaper.

"The presence of Chinese troops is apparently to guard facilities and protect Chinese nationals," the official added.

In 2008, Beijing was reportedly allowed to use a pier at Rason to secure its access to the Sea of Japan.

The Chinese troops, supervising a truce between the two Koreas after the 1950-53 Korean War, withdrew from the North in 1994.

Some officials believe the presence of troops will allow China to intervene in case of any instability in North Korea.

"The worst scenario China wants to avoid is a possibly chaotic situation in its northeastern provinces, which might be created by massive inflows of North Korean refugees," Seoul's International Security Ambassador Nam Joo-Hong was quoted as saying.

"Its troops stationed in Rason would facilitate China's intervention in case of contingencies in the North," he added.

The development comes amid strained relations between Seoul and Pyongyang caused by the exchange of deadly artillery fire on a border island in late November.

The United States and South Korea also recently staged a series of joint military maneuvers, which the North condemned as provocative and warned they could push the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.

Seoul rejects Pyongyang's talks offer

South Korea warns of a strong response to any form of military aggression from the North

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158865.html


South Korea has rejected a North Korean call for unconditional talks to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula, saying the offer was "propaganda."

"North Korea previously issued statements like this early in the year ... they are normally done as part of (a) propaganda campaign towards the South," a Unification Ministry official willing not to be identified said Thursday, Reuters reported.

Pyongyang's offer for talks was considered an empty gesture. "We do not consider this as a serious proposal for dialogue. It is not even in the correct and appropriate format," the informed official added.

Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea announced that it was ready for an "unconditional and early opening of talks" with the South amid high tension on the peninsula.

The North's call for talks comes after the United States met Chinese and South Korean officials for talks about how to calm the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions have been high between the two Koreas since a deadly artillery exchange on an island last November.

Pyongyang said it shelled the area as a result of provocations by Seoul. South demands an apology after North Korea's deadly shelling of the island.

The crisis further deepened over rounds of joint military drills South Korea held with the United States despite threats of retaliation from Pyongyang.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's administration scrambles to respond to criticism that it was unprepared for the November 23 North Korean artillery attack.

Seoul warns of North's serious threat

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157827.html


Seoul's Defense Ministry says North Korea has boosted its special forces and deployed huge artillery guns and a new kind of tank close to the heavily fortified border.

“Threats from North Korea's asymmetric warfare capabilities - such as special forces, artillery pieces and weapons of mass destruction - have been on a steady rise since 2008,” South Korea's Deputy Defense Minister Chang Kwang Il was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.

The biennial report by the ministry signals that the North's military threat has expanded as it has an unspecified number of new powerful tanks prowling the border with the South.

Nearly 13,600 long-range artillery guns have been deployed along the Demilitarized Zone and are reportedly ready to launch attacks on Seoul, the report noted.

With a population of more than 10 million, Seoul is 30 kilometers away from the border.

According to the report, the North has also added 20,000 soldiers to its 18,000 special forces over the past two years.

Seoul claims the contingent of 200,000 special forces are trained to infiltrate into the South to carry out assassinations and disrupt sensitive facilities.

The report further added that the North intends to rely on its nuclear program as a counterweight to South Korea's high-tech military.

The news comes at a time tension is high between the two neighbors following an artillery fire exchange which left four Southerners dead last month.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's administration scrambles to respond to criticism that it was unprepared for a November 23 North Korean artillery attack

South Korea urges talks to disarm North Korea

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (C)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157704.html


South Korea has adopted a softer tone on North Korea's nuclear issue, calling for a revival of international talks with Pyongyang to shut down its nuclear program.

"(We) have no choice but to resolve the problem of dismantling North Korea's nuclear program diplomatically through the six-party talks," South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said as he received a 2011 policy report from the foreign ministry on Wednesday, AFP reported.

Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula after a November 23 artillery fire exchange which left four South Koreans, including two civilians, dead. The incident turned many heads as it became the first shelling of a civilian area in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The crisis further deepened over rounds of joint military drills South Korea held with the United States despite threats of retaliation from Pyongyang.

While the North backed down on its threats in a change of tone, Russia and China are making efforts to resume talks with the North to further ease high tensions.

A US diplomat who visited Pyongyang this month said the North had agreed with the return of UN nuclear inspectors and to dispose of fuel rods outside the country.

Lee on Wednesday said the international community is pressed for time to denuclearize the North, which has set the 100th anniversary of founder Kim Il-Sung's birth in 2012 as the year to become a "great, powerful and prosperous" nation.

Therefore, we "should certainly achieve the dismantlement of its nuclear program next year," he insisted.

The North shut down its elderly plutonium-producing reactor in 2007 under a disarmament deal reached in six-party talks which involved the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the US. The talks failed in April 2009 following new inter-Korean tensions.

In October, Pyongyang unveiled a uranium enrichment plant which US officials claimed could easily be converted to produce weapons-grade uranium. But North Korea says its new plant is solely aimed at fueling a light-water reactor being built to produce energy.

South Korean President urges national unity

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157323.html


South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has called for national unity and solidarity in the face of military threat from North Korea.

Lee said in a national radio address on Monday that division in the country would give the North another chance to attack, thus endangering the lives of South Korean people.

"We can't afford to have division of you against me in the face of national security, because what's at stake is our very lives and the survival of this nation," Reuters quoted Lee as saying.

"It is when we show solidarity as one that the North dares not challenge us. Their will to challenge breaks," he added.

Lee put an end to the decade-long free economic help given to the impoverished North as he took office in 2008.

However, he has come under severe criticism for indecisiveness and the military's soft reaction to North's artillery attack last month.

Tensions climbed in the Korean Peninsula after North Korea shelled South Korean Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, killing four people.

The North, however, insists that its shelling was in response to a military drill by the South.

South Korea to hold naval firing drills

The South Korean Navy MSB (Movement Sea Base) floats off the coast of Yeonpyeong Island

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157193.html


South Korea plans to hold a fresh round of naval firing drills at 23 locations around the Korean Peninsula, excluding areas near the disputed sea border with North Korea.

"This is part of a regular practice involving army, naval and air forces... and the state-run Agency for Defense Development will also conduct ammunition tests off the west coast," a spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP on Sunday.

The drills will be held around the Korean peninsula from December 27 to 31, the report added.

Last week, the South staged a live-fire artillery exercise on Yeonpyeong Island, lasting about two hours.

The maneuvers at a firing range in Pocheon, around 30 km from the inter-Korean border, involved more than 100 types of weapons.

Thursday also saw the second day of a three-day firing exercise by the South Korean navy in the Sea of Japan to the east of the peninsula, about 100 km south of the maritime border with North Korea.

The North did not retaliate despite earlier warnings.

In November, an artillery exchange between the two neighbors left four South Koreans dead on a border Island.

'Pyongyang's restraint prevented war'

A North Korean military unit of missile carriers during a military parade in Pyongyang (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157165.html


North Korea has prevented a devastating war from happening on the Korean Peninsula through its remarkable restraint measures, the country's newspapers say.

In a commentary on Saturday, the daily Minju Choson wrote that a military conflict and an all-out war had been prevented by the peace-loving Democratic People's Republic of Korea thanks to the great restraint it has shown so far.

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper said it was only because of Pyongyang's desire for peace that the military provocation of the United States and South Korea had not led to a war.

The paper also urged the South Korean authorities not to believe North Korea is too "weak" to launch a counterattack.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is closely watching over the moves of the warmongers," Rodong Sinmun wrote.

On December 20, the South Korean military held a live-fire artillery drill in the Yellow Sea one month after North Korea's deadly attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

Two South Korean marines and two construction workers were killed on November 23 when North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells onto the small island.

The attack set more than 60 houses ablaze and sent civilians fleeing in terror.

Seoul said that it will engage in active diplomacy with the US, China, and countries surrounding the Korean Peninsula to seek punitive action against Pyongyang for the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

Seoul is still technically at war with Pyongyang since the Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

North Korea ready for 'sacred war'

A military parade in North Korea, file photo

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156875.html


North Korea has threatened to wage a 'sacred war' with the South using its nuclear deterrent, warning that military exercise conducted in the Yellow Sea are a preparation for war.

"The South Korean puppet forces perpetrated such grave military provocation as renewing their shelling against the DPRK [North Korea] during their recent exercises for a war of aggression in the West Sea [Yellow Sea] of Korea," Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency quoted North Korea's Armed Forces Minister Kim Yong-chun as saying on Thursday.

The remarks came after Seoul held the war game early Thursday in the Pocheon region, between the South Korean capital Seoul and the heavily armed de-Militarized zone separating the two Koreas.

"This indicates that the enemy's scenario for aggression aimed at the start of another Korean War, has reached the phase of its implementation," Kim added.

"The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK are getting fully prepared to launch a sacred war of justice of Korean style based on the nuclear deterrent at anytime necessary to cope with the enemies' actions deliberately pushing the situation to the brink of a war."

North Korea also issued a statement on Thursday calling the drills "provocative'' and "offensive.''

This is while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak toured a border outpost and vowed a powerful response if provoked again by North Korea, suggesting that was the path toward peace, a Press TV correspondent reported.

While Pyongyang, which claims ownership of nearby waters, considers the military exercises as an infringement of its territory, Seoul says the drills are defensive.

In recent months, the United States and South Korea have conducted several massive joint sea and air drills in waters east of the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions climbed in the Korean Peninsula after North Korea shelled South Korean Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, killing four people. The North, however, insists that its shelling was in response to a live-fire drill by the South.

North Korea slams South's military drill

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (R) and his son and heir Jong-un are depicted in this undated photo released by the KCNA news agency

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156749.html


North Korea has slammed South Korea's major ground and air live-fire drill amid growing tension on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea's military ended a major live-fire exercise involving tanks, artillery and fighter planes, AFP reported on Thursday.

The South started the war game in the Pocheon region, between the South Korean capital Seoul and the heavily armed De-Militarized Zone separating the two Koreas at 2:43 pm (0543 GMT) and ended at 3:24 pm.

More than 800 military personnel took part in the exercise. It also included six fighter jets, anti-tank missiles, and involve more than 100 types of weapons.

The two Koreas got engaged in an artillery fire exchange on the Yeonpyeong Island during which four South Koreans were killed. Tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula since then.

According to an army spokesman, the Thursday drill at Pocheon, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the border, was the biggest of its kind to be held at the range.

The drill at the Pocheon range would "demonstrate our solid military preparedness,” First Armoured Battalion commander Choo Eun-Sik said earlier on Wednesday.

In recent months, the United States and South Korea have conducted several massive joint sea and air drills in waters east of the Korean Peninsula.

The North has called the drills provocative and an effort to trigger a war, warning the South against holding more joint military exercises with Washington.

Tensions erupted between the two Koreas after last month's deadly clash between South and North Korean forces along their disputed sea borders.

The fighting left four South Koreans, including two civilians, dead. Each side blames the other for initiating the fighting.

South Korea to hold new live-fire drill

In recent months, the United States and South Korea have conducted several massive joint sea and air drills in waters east of the Korean Peninsula

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156576.html


South Korea has announced that it is to hold a new live-fire drill near border with North Korea, further intensifying the impasse in the Korean Peninsula.

The drill, involving fighter jets and tanks, will be held on Thursday, only three days after South Korea carried out a one-day live-fire drill in the Yellow Sea despite threats of retaliation and stronger strikes from North Korea, AFP reported Wednesday.

Thursday's ground and air firing exercise would also involve self-propelled guns and 800 soldiers, South korea's military said.

According to an army spokesman, the drill at Pocheon, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the border, would be the biggest of its kind to be held at the range.

The spokesperson further pointed out that similar drills had been held at Pocheon many times before.

The drill at the Pocheon range would "demonstrate our solid military preparedness,” First Armoured Battalion commander Choo Eun-Sik said.

"We will retaliate thoroughly if the North commits another provocative act like the shelling of Yeonpyeong," he added.

In recent months, the United States and South Korea have conducted several massive joint sea and air drills in waters east of the Korean Peninsula.

The North has called the drills provocative and an effort to trigger a war, warning the South against holding more joint military exercises with Washington.

Tensions erupted between the two Koreas after last month's deadly clash between South and North Korean forces along their disputed sea borders.

The fighting left four South Koreans, including two civilians, dead. Each side blames the other for initiating the fighting.

Koreas were close to war says Chinese diplomat

South Korean soldiers, file photo

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156563.html


A top Chinese diplomat says the enmity between the two Koreas had come “close to fighting a war,” as tension had mounted in the Korean Peninsula.

China' deputy UN ambassador, Wang Min, who was speaking to an audience of young people at a Security Council debate on Tuesday, reiterated that tension in the Korean Peninsula has been very high “especially in the past two days.”

Western countries' efforts to issue a statement during a UN Security Council emergency meeting on Monday to publicly condemn North Korea's artillery attack yielded no results due to China's resistance.

Pointing out the long-lasting hostilities between North and South Korea, he stressed that the UN Security Council aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the crisis, but not in the near future.

“Their feud has gone on for decades, it did not start yesterday, therefore it is unlikely that the problems can be resolved overnight," Wang said.

"First of all we hope that they can remain calm, we hope that they will refrain from engaging in any conflict," he added.

South Korea carried out one-day live-fire drills near a disputed sea border island with North Korea on Monday despite threats of retaliation and stronger attacks from Pyongyang.

However, North retracted its earlier threats saying it does not intend to retaliate for the exercises.

China has strongly urged both sides of the Korean Peninsula to show calm and restraint to solve issues through peaceful dialogue, saying that maintaining peace and stability in the region is in the interest of both sides.

South Korea ends one-day military drill

Colonel Lee Boong-Woo, spokesman of South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during a briefing on the live-fire exercise on Yeonpyeong Island, at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Monday, December 20, 2010

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156292.html


South Korea has completed its one-day maritime artillery drills from a front-line island attacked last month by North Korea.

South Korea said it launched fighter jets to deter any North Korean attacks during the hour-long drills on Yeonpyeong Island, the Yonhap news agency reported on Monday.

The live-fire naval exercise ended peacefully after one hour and 34 minutes with no immediate reaction from the North.

The island was shelled by the North after similar drills last month.

The North considers the waters around Yeonpyeong its territory and has threatened to retaliate for any new drills.

The military exercise took place in waters just south of Yeonpyeong Island where a North Korean shelling on November 23 killed two South Korean marines and two civilians.

The North has accused the South of provoking the attack because shells from a South Korean military drill landed in the North's waters.

On Sunday, South Korea ordered thousands to find shelter in preparation for the drill while the United Nations' Security Council wrangled for nearly eight hours over growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula before ending its emergency meeting without a unified statement.

About 8,000 residents were ordered to take cover in Yeonpyeong, Baengnyeong, Daecheong, Socheong and Udo in the hours leading up to the drills.

North Korea said over the weekend that the planned exercises were designed to violate the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 and "ignite war at any cost.”

South Korea starts live-fire drill

South Korean residents take shelter on Yeonpyeong Island near the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea on Monday December 20, 2010

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156270.html


South Korean troops have started a live-fire artillery exercise on a border island, the South Korean Defense Ministry says.

"The drill has started," a ministry spokesman told AFP on Monday.

South Korean Marines began one-day artillery drills on Yeonpyeong Island at 02:30 p.m. (05:30 GMT) on Monday, an officer at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

South Korea's military will "immediately and sternly" deal with any possible provocation by North Korea, the officer noted, speaking on condition of anonymity citing department rules.

This comes despite threats by North Korea to hit back and after South Korea refused to back down over a live-fire drill near disputed Yeonpyeong Island.

South Korea launches fighter jets to deter any possible attack by North Korea.

Norht Korea has threatened to retalitate any new drills by the South.

Residents, local officials and journalists on the island were ordered to evacuate to underground shelters because of possible attacks by North Korea, he further explained.

Meanwhile, a number of peace activists in South Korea took part in a rally in protest against the planned drills.

South Korea refuses to quit live-fire drill

South Korean marines patrol on Yeonpyeong Island.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156272.html


South Korea has refused to back down over a live-fire drill near a disputed sea border island with North Korea despite fears of triggering a war in the region.

Marines will conduct the one-day artillery drills on Yeonpyeong Island later Monday and the exact timing will be determined by weather conditions, an officer at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

South Korea's military will "immediately and sternly" deal with any possible provocation by North Korea, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing department rules.

Residents, local officials and journalists on the island were ordered to evacuate to underground shelters because of possible attacks by North Korea, he said.

Meanwhile, a number of peace activists in South Korea have taken part in a rally in protest against the planned drills.

They're calling on the military to cancel what they say is a provoking exercise.

The protesters say the military exercise could trigger a clash between the two Koreas.

They're calling on the government to solve its problems with the North through dialog.

The UN Security Council failed Sunday to agree on a statement to address rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

UN holds emergency talks on Koreas

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156218.html


As Washington and Seoul reject calls to avoid live-fire drills, the UN Security Council holds an emergency meeting to discuss the escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula.

At the meeting, Russia called for a special UN envoy to hold urgent talks between the two Koreas.

The situation is deteriorating on the Korean peninsula as South Korea and the US look set to hold yet another joint, live-fire, war game.

The drill is planned to be held on Yeongpeong Island.

North Korean guns pounded Yeongpeong last month during a drill by South Korean artillery that sent shells falling into disputed waters.

The ensuing artillery exchange left four South Koreans dead.

Pyongyang has threatened to hit back harder if the South and the US go ahead with their latest live exercise.

North Korea's military is now reportedly on high alert in the area. Pyongyang has warned that that the war games could bring the Koreas closer to the brink of war.

The North accuses US President Barack Obama of plotting with regional allies to topple the country's government, insisting that its nuclear program is a deterrent against US forces in the region.

Russia calls for UN meeting on Koreas

UN Security Council

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156105.html

Russia has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council over the growing tensions between North and South Koreas.

Russia's Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said on Saturday that his respective government wants the Security Council to send a "restraining signal" to North Korea and resolve the disputes between the Koreas through diplomatic means.

He expressed regret that the Council did not convene its emergency meeting on the issue on Saturday, AP reported.

The US mission to the UN has announced that the meeting is scheduled to be held on Sunday because other council members need time for further consultations.

Russia's request comes a few hours after North Korea served a warning to South Korea over holding live-fire artillery exercises on the Yeonpyeong border island.

The upcoming exercise "would make it impossible to prevent the situation on the Korean Peninsula from exploding and escape its ensuing disaster," Pyongyang said in a statement.

South Korean officials, however, have vowed to carry out the drills on Monday or Tuesday.

Russia and China have expressed concern over the situation in the Korean Peninsula, urging South Korea to cancel its plans for the exercises.

On November 23, North Korea allegedly shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians.

The North says the attack was in retaliation to artillery shells from the South Korean side that had landed in its waters.