Obama, Jintao disccuss Korean crisis

WASHINGTON/BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for a calm response to the Korean Peninsula crisis, warning that if the present situation is not dealt with properly, tensions could escalate and spin out of control.

Hu is said to have conveyed this missive to US President Barack Obama over telephone on Sunday, even as North and South Korea are engaged missile attacks and preliminary war games.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hold talks with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts on North Korea’s attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong two weeks ago.

Governments in all three countries have said they will discuss China’s proposal for an emergency meeting of the six countries involved in the stalled aid-for-denuclearisation talks, which they have so far snubbed.

The Guardian quoted Hu, as saying: “Especially with the present situation, if not dealt with properly, tensions could well rise on the Korean peninsula or spin out of control, which would not be in anyone’s interest.”

He added: “The most pressing task at present is to calmly deal with the situation.”

In a statement, the White House said Obama had urged China to work with the US and others to “send a clear message to North Korea that its provocations are unacceptable.”

It added that the two men also discussed Iran.

The conversation between Obama and Hu came a day before South Korea’s military said it was going ahead with military drills at 29 locations, including the Daecheong island, in the western sea near the disputed northern limit line, which the North has never accepted.

The area saw a deadly naval skirmish last year.

Pyongyang has said the manoeuvres show Seoul is “hell-bent” on war. (ANI)