UPDATE

S Korea begins live-fire artillery drill in waters near Yeonpyeong Island

 

SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea began Monday a live- firing drill from a western border island shelled last month by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) despite the latter's repeated vows of counterattack, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said.

The drill started at 14:30 local time (0530 GMT), an official from press office of the ministry told Xinhua in a phone call, adding that it will "end soon".

The one-day live-fire exercise, conducted in waters near a disputed western sea border with the DPRK, will "not last for too long," a JCS official told Xinhua.

South Korea has reportedly deployed a guided-missile Aegis destroyer and put fighter jets on standby in anticipation of potential counterattacks by Pyongyang, which recently vowed "self- defense blows" against South Korea's artillery exercises.

The drill comes amid rising tension following the DPRK's artillery bombardment on Nov. 23 of the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong, which killed two marines and two civilians.

  2010-12-20 13:40:26

China deeply worried about situation on Korean Peninsula, calls for maximum restraint

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- China on Sunday expressed deep worries over the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and called on the parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint and return to the negotiating table at an early date, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Wang Min said.

Wang made the statement while speaking at a closed-door consultations on the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula by the 15 members of the UN Security Council, Liu Yutong, spokesman for the Chinese Permanent Mission to the UN, told Xinhua.  

UNSC fails to reach consensus on Korean crisis

UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Sunday failed to reach a consensus on the crisis of the Korean Peninsula after eight hours of closed-door consultations, due to the gaps among the council members, diplomats said here.

"While we still are waiting for firm clear instructions from every capital. I think its safe to predict that the gaps that remain are unlikely to be bridged," said Susan Rice, the U.S. UN ambassador.

 

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