China warns US-Korea on ‘provocative acts’
Nov. 25: North Korea's key ally China said on Thursday it opposed US-South Korea war games to be staged after Pyongyang's deadly artillery barrage, as Premier Wen Jiabao warned against “provocative” acts.
“We have taken note of relevant reports and express concern and oppose any act that undermines peace and stability on the (Korean) peninsula,” the foreign ministry spokesman, Mr Hong Lei, told reporters when asked about the exercises, which are set to kick off in the Yellow Sea as a show of force on Sunday.
Tensions are high in the region after North Korean artillery shelled a South Korean island, killing four people and prompting retaliatory fire from the South.
The Chinese Premier, Mr Wen Jiabao, said China was against “any provocative military acts” on the Korean peninsula and urged all sides to “show restraint”, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement released on Thursday.
It was not clear whether he was referring to the North-South exchange of fire or the planned US-South Korean military exercises. The United States and South Korea, which have both appealed to Beijing to use its influence to rein in its wayward ally, are planning a four-day naval show of force against North Korea that will include a US aircraft carrier.
South Korea said on Thursday it would seek cooperation from China and Russia over the issue. Beijing, which is North Korea’s closest ally and source of economic support, has so far refused to take sides, merely calling for “restraint” from all parties.
The South is weighing what support it will get from the two nations before deciding whether to refer Tuesday’s attack to the UN Security Council, where China and Russia hold veto power as permanent council members.
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