| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Don't Provoke Us, Lee Warns N. Korea |
| 2012-07-05 |
| President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday warned North Korea on Tuesday against further provocations, saying that China is under increasing pressure from the international community to stop supporting Pyongyang's bellicose behavior. China "is taking steps to promote stability and balance in Northeast Asia," Lee told an advisory group of prominent figures, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha. "We are making it clear that we will respond to whatever provocations North Korea makes several times over," Lee said. "We also asked China to relay this position to North Korea." The comments came a week after the 10th anniversary of a naval skirmish with North Korea that left six South Korean sailors dead. China has often effectively sided with North Korea after provocations like the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, urging dialogue rather than implementing sanctions against Pyongyang. But senior Chinese figures have recently indicated that Beijing's patience with the North is running out. A high-ranking government source speculated that Lee has confirmed this change in China's position in talks with top leaders including Premier Wen Jiabao. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Believe it when the Chinese start massing troops on the border. Otherwise, just an attempt to claim plausible deniability. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-07-05 07:32 |