SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean troops pushed ahead with naval firing drills Monday, a day after North Korea warned that the exercises would aggravate tensions between the rivals following the North’s deadly shelling of a front-line South Korean island.
Regional powers stepped up diplomatic efforts to head off further conflict, with President Barack Obama speaking to China’s Hu Jintao by telephone Monday and top diplomats from the U.S., South Korea and Japan scheduled to hold talks later in Washington.
Obama condemned the North’s Nov. 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and its pursuit of a uranium-enrichment program and urged Hu to send Pyongyang a message that its “provocations are unacceptable,” the White House said. The attack killed two marines and two civilians.
In a show of unity, the U.S., Japan and South Korea on Monday said they would not resume nuclear talks with North Korea until it stops its “provocative and belligerent” behavior and takes concrete steps to roll back its nuclear arms program.
