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China wary as U.S. warship heads to S. Korea

China expressed concern on Thursday about joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises in the Yellow Sea while North Korea threatened more attacks on the wealthy South.
A woman walks amid destroyed houses on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, on Thursday.
A woman walks amid destroyed houses on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, on Thursday.Lee Jin-man / AP
/ Source: msnbc.com news services

China expressed concern on Thursday about joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises in the Yellow Sea while North Korea threatened more attacks on the wealthy South if there are more "provocations."

Seoul said it would increase troops on islands near North Korea following Tuesday's bombardment of one of its small islands by Pyongyang's artillery, which has caused a sharp spike in tension.

Washington is putting increasing pressure on China to rein in North Korea, but a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said reviving the stalled six-party talks involving the two Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the United States was urgently needed.

"We have noted the relevant reports and express our concern about this," spokesman Hong Lei said, referring to the joint military exercises and the involvement of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the drill.

But Beijing has previously used stronger language to signal its displeasure. In August, the People's Liberation Army said earlier plans to send the George Washington to the Yellow Sea threatened long-term damage to Sino-U.S. relations.

Earlier, Seoul and Washington ratcheted up the pressure on China to use its influence on ally North Korea to ease soaring tensions after an exchange of fire left four South Koreans dead — including two civilians. China has urged both sides to show restraint.

The previously scheduled U.S.-South Korean drills set to begin Sunday are sure to infuriate North Korea.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young also resigned Thursday in the wake of criticism of the country's response to the attack. The presidential Blue House confirmed the resignation had been accepted.

'Warmongers' There was no let-up in the typically bellicose language used by North Korea.

"(North Korea) will wage second and even third rounds of attacks without any hesitation, if warmongers in South Korea make reckless military provocations again," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a statement from the military as saying.

"The U.S. cannot evade the blame for the recent shelling," it added. "If the U.S. truly desires detente on the Korean peninsula, it should not thoughtlessly shelter the South Korean puppet forces but strictly control them so that they may not commit any more adventurous military provocations."

South Korean media reports said Tuesday's artillery attack was likely personally ordered by reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Kim and his son and designated heir, Jong Un, visited the Yellow Sea coastal artillery base from where shells were fired at a South Korean island near the disputed maritime boundary just hours before the attack, newspapers in Seoul said.

Yeonpyeong Island, home to military bases as well a fishing community of 1,300 residents, looked like a war zone Thursday, with homes and shops completely flattened and the streets strewn with blackened rubble, mangled window frames and shattered glass.

Hundreds of residents have already fled the devastation for the mainland, but a few were still rooting around the rubble looking for personal belongings and spending cold nights in underground shelters.

Hong said that South Korea will boost ground troops on Yeonpyeong and four other islands in western waters in response to this week's attack, reversing a 2006 decision calling for an eventual decrease. He declined to discuss specifics for the increase, but said troops there currently amount to about 4,000.

His comments came as South Korea's defense chief visited the island, located about 50 miles from the port of Incheon west of Seoul but just 7 miles from North Korean shores.

The military was analyzing debris from North Korea's artillery and has not ruled out North Korea's use of thermobaric bombs, which burn more violently and increase casualties and property destruction, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. He asked not to be identified, saying he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

The two Koreas are required to abide by an armistice signed at the close of the three-year war, but the North does not recognize the maritime line drawn by U.N. forces in 1953 and considers South Korean maneuvers near Yeonpyeong island a violation of its territory.

The attack added to animosity from the March sinking of a South Korean warship in nearby waters that killed 46 sailors in the worst military attack on the nation since the Korean War.

Skirmishes occur from time to time around the sea border, but Tuesday's attack was the first to target civilians and raised concerns about escalating hostilities leading to another war.

South Korea says its artillery exercises Tuesday were aimed away from North Korea, and a top military official on the island Thursday showed reporters a trajectory heading to the southwest.

"North Korea argues that we fired at them first, but this is the direction that we fired," Lt. Gen. Joo Jong-hwa said.