Asia-Pacific
UN Security Council to meet over Korean tensions
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-19 09:33
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UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet in an emergency meeting on the rising tension on the Korean Peninsula on Sunday morning, the UN spokesman announced here Saturday.
The Council meeting will kick off at 11 am EST (1600 GMT) on Sunday, the spokesman said.
"The Security Council will hold consultations tomorrow at 11 am on the situation in the Korean Peninsula, with a view to a formal meeting," the spokesman added.
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Also on Saturday, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) accused the United States of goading the Republic of Korea (ROK) into provoking it, the official news agency KCNA reported.
The ROK's plan to hold firing drills again on Yonphyong Island was an "intolerable tease" and "absolutely unfair bellicose provocation," a spokesman for DPRK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.
The move would lead the situation to an explosion and bring about tragic disasters if it broke that bottom, he said.
The DPRK has sent warnings that provocateurs who infringe on its sovereignty and territory would be punished "firmly and unmercifully."
In Beijing, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said on Saturday that China is deeply worried about the situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is extremely precarious, highly complicated and sensitive.
In a statement on China's stance on the situation, Zhang said that China had repeatedly told the parties that if blood were shed on the Korean Peninsula, the people on the two sides of the peninsula would be the first to suffer.
Bloodshed and conflict will lead to national tragedy of fratricide among compatriots and brothers of the DPRK and the ROK, harm regional peace and stability, and affect neighbouring countries.
China had made unremitting efforts with the DPRK, the ROK and other parties through various channels to avoid escalation of the situation, he said.