Koreas on alert, talks drag on

The two Koreas are not really willing to engage in an all-out war, though tensions appeared high even when senior officials from both sides sat down to discuss solutions to the latest crisis, Chinese observers said Sunday. Top aides of North and South Korean leaders met into Sunday evening after talking through the previous night to try to ease tensions involving an exchange of artillery fire that brought the peninsula to the brink of armed conflict. The rare and unusually long meeting at the Panmunjom truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) began on Saturday evening, shortly after a North Korea deadline for Seoul to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts or face military action expired. Even as the talks restarted, the rivals were on high military alert, with the North deploying twice the usual artillery strength at the border and a majority of its submarine fleet - more than 50 vessels - away from their bases, the South's defense ministry said. South Korea's six fighter jets attending a joint drill with the US in Alaska also returned home two days ahead of schedule, Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday. The country said it had no plans to halt the propaganda broadcasts that triggered the latest standoff. The envoys, shown on TV exchanging handshakes and smiling at the start of their meeting, discussed ways to resolve tensions and improve ties, South Korea's presidential Blue House said in a brief statement. Signs of ease The current tensions began early this month when two South Korean soldiers were wounded by landmines along the border. Pyongyang denies laying the mines. Days later, Seoul began its propaganda broadcasts in random three-hour bursts from 11 banks of loudspeakers, including news reports and K-pop music from the South, resuming a tactic both sides halted in 2004. The crisis escalated on Thursday when the North reportedly fired four shells into the South, according to Seoul, which responded with a barrage of 29 artillery rounds. North Korea denied firing the first shot and declared a "quasi state of war" in the frontline and issued an ultimatum for Seoul to halt its broadcasts. That deadline passed on Saturday without any reported incident. A statement released by North Korea's foreign ministry on Friday said that to protect their chosen political system with their lives, the North Korean military and people would not blink to engage in an all-out war instead of a simple counter action or revenge, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). However, a brief KCNA report on Saturday on the start of high-level talks in Panmunjom referred to the South as "the Republic of Korea" a rare move observers said that raised hopes for an end to tensions. Pyongyang usually calls the South a "puppet state." Cao Shigong, a member of the Korean Peninsula Research Society of the Chinese Association of Asia-Pacific Studies, said he believes North Korea is more likely to have other motives than a war with the South. "North Korea is bent on interrupting the ongoing annual joint military drills between South Korea and the US," Cao told the Global Times on Sunday. "Based on experience, Pyongyang might appear very tough in words, but relatively restrained in deeds." The annual Ulchi Freedom military drill, which is expected to run through the second half of August, involves 50,000 South Korean and 30,000 US soldiers and a computer simulation of a North Korean attack. Lü Chao, director of the Korean Research Center at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, also said North Korea's decision to deploy more troops at the border or to announce a semi state of war is only intended to outmaneuver the South, "but it cannot be seen as a sign of war." Also, South Korea demanded that Hwang Pyong-so, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's top military aide and director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, join talks at Panmunjom, and the North agreed. It shows the North hopes the incident can be diffused, Lü said. China concerned The Korean Peninsula crisis surfaced as China prepares for its commemoration events to mark the end of World War II. China on Friday asked relevant parties to exercise restraint and prevent an escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. "We urge relevant sides to maintain calm and restraint, properly deal with the current situation through contact and dialogue, and stop any action that could heighten tensions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. She added China resolutely safeguards regional peace and stability and opposes any action that could raise tensions. On Friday, North Korea said they have been showing restraint for decades, and whoever calls for restraint again will not help the situation. Lü said North Korea should understand China values bilateral ties with North Korea, and doesn't favor either side. Sunday's talks were open-ended, with the South's Blue House expected to announce the results after they conclude.