The UN Security Council plans to convene an emergency session on Sunday to deal with Korean tensions. Russia officially requested the meeting in an apparent move to prevent further military escalation in the West Sea amid North Korea's warnings of "deadlier" firepower retaliation against South Korea's live-fire drills that were planned for this weekeend, either Saturday or Sunday, but may now be postponed to early next week due to poor maritime weather conditions.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin is about to make a press statement in a matter of minutes. (See statement below)

North Korea is playing the military card and nuclear card simultaneously. Pyongyang shelled South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, 2010 killing both soldiers and civilians, in its first deadliest attack on South Korea since the Korean War ended in 1953. The regime previously disclosed its pilot uranium enrichment facility to American scientist Sig Hecker along with construction plans for an indigenous light-water reactor.

It is unclear how certain points will be discussed among Council members and what action it will take. The least (lowest action) the Council can do in terms of response or action is to release a President's Statement. The last time the Security Council met over North Korea's provocation was after Pyongyang sank the South Korean ship Cheonan. But the Council's action was very weak and disappointing since the UNSC Statement did not name North Korea as the attacker upon China's influence.

Korea watchers generally are not hopeful for any substantive results at the Council this time.

With looming questions over the Security Council's effectiveness, there is a debate among experts as to whether the Council should uphold its obligation to take action as instructed by the UN Charter or whether Council involvement would actually interfere with a matter that should be dealt with between the two Koreas first. (Click Read More)

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UN Security Council, North Korea, South Korean live-fire drills, Korean tensions, Yeonpyeong (all tags)

(full texts)

2010.12.6 TRILATERAL STATEMENT ROK, U.S., JAPAN: WASHINGTON, DC

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Seiji Maehara, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea Kim Sung-hwan, and the Secretary of State of the United States of America Hillary Rodham Clinton, met in Washington, D.C., on December 6, 2010 for a ministerial trilateral. This meeting builds on longstanding efforts to intensify policy coordination and strategic dialogue among the three countries and reflects the need for greater trilateral cooperation in addressing enduring and emerging challenges. The Ministers noted that as three of the world’s major economies with shared values, the three nations have a common cause and responsibilities to maintain stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. (Click "read more")

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South Korea, U.S., Japan, Joint Statement, Yeonpyeong, North Korea, Six-Party Talks (all tags)