【明報專訊】On November 23, Yeonpyeong (延坪島), a South Korean border island, was suddenly shelled by North Korea. At least four South Korean servicemen and civilians were killed. South Korea returned fire and tension between the two countries has grown.
It is believed that North Korea's move was related to Kim Jong-il (朝鮮領導人金正日) and his son Kim Jong-un (金正恩). The father intends to groom his son to take over. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (韓國總統李明博) has called an emergency security meeting. He has ordered that South Korea's coastline fighting capacity be increased.
The United Nations Security Council (聯合國安全理事會) has not yet officially held a special meeting on the matter. According to AFP (法新社), the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, the UK, France, Russia and China) prefer putting the issue under inter-government negotiations. They have stressed the need to take precautions (戒備).
No sooner had the conflict occurred than China urged that the six-party talks (六方會談) be resumed in December. The six parties are the US, Russia, Japan, China, North Korea and South Korea.
