S. Korea to hold military drill despite pleas
YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea - Military maneuvers planned by South Korean troops did not take place yesterday because of bad weather on a border island shelled by North Korea last month, but the United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting at Russia's request amid concerns over rising tensions on the divided peninsula.
The North warned Friday that it would strike even harder than before if the South went ahead with planned one-day firing drills it says it will conduct sometime between yesterday and Tuesday. Four people died last month in the North's attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the tense sea border.
The United States supports South Korea, saying the country has a right to conduct such a military exercise. However, Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed its "extreme concern" Friday over the drills and urged South Korea to cancel it to prevent a further escalation of tensions.
The UN Security Council scheduled emergency closed-door consultations on North Korea for today at Russia's request, said Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The United States holds the council's rotating presidency this month.
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the Russian government believes the Security Council must send "a restraining signal" to North Korea and help launch diplomatic actions to resolve all disputes between North Korea and South Korea.
China, the North's key ally, said it is firmly against any acts that could worsen already high tensions on the Korean peninsula. "In regard to what could lead to worsening the situation or any escalation of acts of sabotage of regional peace and stability, China is firmly and unambiguously opposed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement Saturday.
China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun also warned in a statement that the situation on the Korean peninsula is "extremely precarious." The North issued a warning yesterday saying South Korea would face "catastrophe" if it went ahead with the planned drills, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that marines would go ahead with the drills as scheduled and that the military was ready to respond to any possible provocation.
