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Tensions on the Korean peninsula remain high following last month's bombardment of a South Korean island by North Korea that killed two marines and two civilians. South Korea's armed forces, which were criticised for their slow response to the shelling, suffered further embarrassment on Tuesday when the army chief, General Hwang Eui-Don, resigned over a property scandal.
As diplomatic divisions over how to best handle North Korea continued, Russia this week joined China in calling for a return to the stalled Six Party nuclear disarmament. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, expressed his "deep concern" about the industrial uranium enrichment capability when the North's foreign minister Pak Ui-Chun visited Moscow on Monday, urging Pyongyang to comply with UN resolutions on the issue. China, which has faced calls from the US, South Korea and Japan to use its influence on Pyongyang, said on Tuesday that last week's meeting between its senior foreign affairs official Dai Bingguo and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had been fruitful.
"Both sides believe the six-party talks process should go forward, and strive to achieve denuclearisation of the (Korean) peninsula," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said of Dai's visit.
However Washington, Tokyo and Seoul have refused all call to return to the negotiating table, warning against rewarding North Korean belligerence and calling on Pyongyang to demonstrate that it is serious about creating a nuclear-free Korea. The diplomatic negotiations between the US and China will continue, with James Steinberg, the US Deputy Secretary of State due to visit Beijing this week to press for tougher action. Meanwhile Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and a longtime intermediary with Pyongyang, will visit North Korea on Thursday, on what is billed as a four-day private trip, which is expected to calm tensions.
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