China reacted to the increased tensions after the artillery shelling of a South Korean island killed four people by urging a return to the six-party talks that include North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
The attack, which comes days after it emerged that North Korea was pressing ahead with its illegal nuclear programme, marks a serious further escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Officials said “dozens” of artillery rounds had landed on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, 50 miles off the South’s northwest coast in an area close to a disputed sea border. Other reports suggested around 200 shells could have been fired in the attack which began at 2.34pm local time (7.34am GMT). Yonhap initially reported that 200 rounds had hit.
The incident is believed to have been sparked by South Korean military exercises in the area, which the North had objected to.
Senior figures in Beijing have even described the regime in the North as behaving like a “spoiled child.” The cables suggest China is frustrated in its relationship with Pyongyang. One from April 2009 quoted Chinese vice Foreign Minister He Yafei as saying that “North Korea wanted to engage directly with the United States and was therefore acting like a “spoiled child” in order to get the attention of the “adult.”