Asia-Pacific News
Taiwan condemns North Korea's "provocative act"
Nov 24, 2010, 5:53 GMT
Taipei - Taiwan on Wednesday condemned North's Korea's shelling of a South Korean island, calling it a 'provocation' and a threat to stability in the region.
'Yesterday's incident is a provocation to East Asia and the West Pacific. North Korea's provocation damages peace and stability, so we condemn it,' Foreign Minister Timothy Yang told reporters.
North Korea fired artillery shells at a South Korean island near their disputed western sea border on Tuesday, killing two soldiers and injuring 15 more as well as three civilians.
Yang called on all related parties to solve disputes peacefully through international mechanisms. He cited the efforts by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to solve the island's own dispute with China.
'As a result, the Taiwan Strait - which used to be a flashpoint like the Korean Peninsula - is now stable. Taiwan is a peacemaker,' he said.
US President Barack Obama reiterated the 'unshakeable support of the United States' for South Korea, the White House said in a statement Wednesday. The US-led United Nations Command in South Korea has called for high-level military talks between the Koreas.
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