India pitches for talks to resolve Korean crisis

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) India today favoured negotiations
and not force to resolve differences in the Korean peninsula
even as South threatened to hit back with air strikes at the
North should the regime launch another assault.
"India believes that peaceful negotiations rather than
the use of force, should be the basis for addressing
differences between States," External Affairs Ministry
spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in reply to a question.
He deplored the loss of lives in the shelling by North
Korea on an island bordering South Korea, and pitched for
peaceful negotiations for resolving differences between the
two countries.
Prakash said India appreciated the "maturity and
restraint" displayed by South Korea in handling the situation
with a view to maintaining peace and stability in the region.
This is the second statement issued by India after two
people were killed in shelling by North Korea on the
Yeonpyeong Island on November 23.
"We are pained at the tragic loss of life in this
deplorable incident," he said adding that India was closely
following the developments in the Korean peninsula in the
aftermath of the recent shelling.
South Korea's military had counter-attacked with
artillery fire after the North shelled the border island late
last month.
South Korea today said it will hit back with air
strikes at the North and "punish the attacker thoroughly"
should the regime launch another assault.
The tough words came as the largest ever US-Japan war
games kicked off in waters off the tense Korean peninsula, and
as the UN's atomic watchdog voiced "great concern" about the
North's nuclear ambitions. PTI