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28 November 2010
Last updated at 04:26 ET
China has called for an emergency meeting of key nations amid high tension in Korea over the North's deadly shelling of a Southern island.
It proposed that members of the six nations that have been taking part in talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament should meet in December.
The two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia are involved in the talks.
South Korea quickly said it was not interested in formally resuming talks on nuclear disarmament.
The six-party talks have been stalled since April 2009. South Korea and the US say they will not resume the talks until the North has made a genuine offer on halting its nuclear programme.
Wu Dawei, China's representative to the talks, said on Sunday: "The Chinese side, after careful study, proposes to have emergency consultations among the heads of delegation to the six-party talks in early December in Beijing to exchange views on major issues of concern to the parties at present."
He said this was not a proposal to resume formally the six-nation negotiations.
However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said President Lee Myung-bak had told visiting senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Dai Bingguo that Seoul was not interested in the early resumption of the six-party talks as it was more urgent to deal with Pyongyang's belligerence.
'Unpredictable' The Korea crisis began when the North launched a sudden barrage of shells at Yeonpyeong island, close to the maritime border between the two countries, on Tuesday.
Two South Korean civilians and two marines were killed, sparking the resignation of the South's defence minister and angry protests in the South.
Pyongyang insists it was provoked into the shelling by military exercises, which were being carried out by the South close to Yeonpyeong.
Continue reading the main story North Korea: Timeline 2010
26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors
20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement
July-September: South Korea and US hold military exercises; US places more sanctions on Pyongyang
29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move
29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border
12 November: North Korea shows US scientist new - undeclared - uranium enrichment facility
23 November: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing at least four South Koreans
Tension is still high as the US and South Korea carry out new, pre-arranged military exercises in the Yellow Sea, about 125km (77 miles) south of the disputed maritime border between the two Koreas.
The aircraft carrier the USS George Washington and four other US navy vessels are being joined by South Korean destroyers, patrol vessels, frigates, support ships and anti-submarine aircraft.
Shortly after the exercises began, North Korea again vowed to hit back if its waters were violated.
"We will deliver a brutal military blow on any provocation which violates our territorial waters," the North's state-controlled KCNA news agency said.
The Yonhap news agency reported that Pyongyang had placed surface-to-surface missiles on launch pads in the Yellow Sea and had also moved surface-to-air missiles to frontline areas, but the South's defence ministry could not confirm the deployment.
Residents of Yeonpyeong were ordered to shelter in bunkers when artillery fire was heard on Sunday, but the order was lifted 40 minutes later. Only about 20 of the 1,700 residents remain on the island.
The South Korean defence ministry has also now instructed journalists to leave by the end of Sunday as it cannot guarantee their safety.
"At this stage, it is unpredictable what kind of a provocative action North Korea will take using the South Korean-US joint drills as a justification," the ministry said.
Earlier, Mr Dai had told President Lee that Beijing would try to prevent the situation deteriorating any further.
Mr Lee had urged China to take what he called a more fair and responsible position on the relationship between the two Koreas.
The chairman of North Korea's parliament, an official known to be a close confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has been invited to visit Beijing next week.
Do you live on Yeonpyeong Island? What is your reaction to North Korea's warning? Send us your comments using the form below.
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It proposed that members of the six nations that have been taking part in talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament should meet in December.
The two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia are involved in the talks.
South Korea quickly said it was not interested in formally resuming talks on nuclear disarmament.
The six-party talks have been stalled since April 2009. South Korea and the US say they will not resume the talks until the North has made a genuine offer on halting its nuclear programme.
Wu Dawei, China's representative to the talks, said on Sunday: "The Chinese side, after careful study, proposes to have emergency consultations among the heads of delegation to the six-party talks in early December in Beijing to exchange views on major issues of concern to the parties at present."
He said this was not a proposal to resume formally the six-nation negotiations.
However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said President Lee Myung-bak had told visiting senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Dai Bingguo that Seoul was not interested in the early resumption of the six-party talks as it was more urgent to deal with Pyongyang's belligerence.
'Unpredictable' The Korea crisis began when the North launched a sudden barrage of shells at Yeonpyeong island, close to the maritime border between the two countries, on Tuesday.
Two South Korean civilians and two marines were killed, sparking the resignation of the South's defence minister and angry protests in the South.
Pyongyang insists it was provoked into the shelling by military exercises, which were being carried out by the South close to Yeonpyeong.
Continue reading the main story North Korea: Timeline 2010
26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors
20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement
July-September: South Korea and US hold military exercises; US places more sanctions on Pyongyang
29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move
29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border
12 November: North Korea shows US scientist new - undeclared - uranium enrichment facility
23 November: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing at least four South Koreans
- US-South alliance under pressure
- Koreans angry and worried
- Brief history of the Korean War
- US carrier diplomacy
Tension is still high as the US and South Korea carry out new, pre-arranged military exercises in the Yellow Sea, about 125km (77 miles) south of the disputed maritime border between the two Koreas.
The aircraft carrier the USS George Washington and four other US navy vessels are being joined by South Korean destroyers, patrol vessels, frigates, support ships and anti-submarine aircraft.
Shortly after the exercises began, North Korea again vowed to hit back if its waters were violated.
"We will deliver a brutal military blow on any provocation which violates our territorial waters," the North's state-controlled KCNA news agency said.
The Yonhap news agency reported that Pyongyang had placed surface-to-surface missiles on launch pads in the Yellow Sea and had also moved surface-to-air missiles to frontline areas, but the South's defence ministry could not confirm the deployment.
Residents of Yeonpyeong were ordered to shelter in bunkers when artillery fire was heard on Sunday, but the order was lifted 40 minutes later. Only about 20 of the 1,700 residents remain on the island.
The South Korean defence ministry has also now instructed journalists to leave by the end of Sunday as it cannot guarantee their safety.
"At this stage, it is unpredictable what kind of a provocative action North Korea will take using the South Korean-US joint drills as a justification," the ministry said.
Earlier, Mr Dai had told President Lee that Beijing would try to prevent the situation deteriorating any further.
Mr Lee had urged China to take what he called a more fair and responsible position on the relationship between the two Koreas.
The chairman of North Korea's parliament, an official known to be a close confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has been invited to visit Beijing next week.
Do you live on Yeonpyeong Island? What is your reaction to North Korea's warning? Send us your comments using the form below.
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