NORTH KOREA: One day after North Korea trumpeted its nuclear capabilities to the world, the secretive Stalinist state's neighbours urged Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table to defuse growing tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Nowhere has North Korean brinkmanship a bigger direct impact than on its southern neighbour, and top officials in the South Korean capital, Seoul, have called on their northern counterparts to resume talks. North Korea keeps 70 per cent of its 1.2 million soldiers stationed along the border, one of the last relics of the Cold War.
The demilitarised zone (DMZ) lies just 65 kilometres north of Seoul. South Korea's Vice-Foreign Minister, Mr Lee Tae-shik, said North Korea was trying to raise its negotiating stakes by announcing it had nuclear bomb-making capabilities and pulling out of six-nation talks aimed at ending the nuclear stand-off. "But it could turn into a very serious problem if the North takes additional steps," said Mr Lee.
China, which is North Korea's only significant ally, was also keeping a close eye on the situation. The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Beijing had "noticed" reports that North Korea would not take part in further talks. Asked to comment on North Korea's boasts of nuclear capability, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr Kong Quan said China's chief aim was maintaining a stable and nuclear-free Korean peninsula. "We hope the talks can continue," Mr Kong said.
China has hosted and taken part in the first three rounds of talks, which also include both Koreas, the US, Russia and Japan, and it has a lot at stake in the talks. China has played the role of honest broker and it is keen to keep the negotiations on track as a successful outcome to talks in Beijing would lift China's status as an emerging world power and also help boost stability in the region.
The talks have made little progress and efforts since last September to organise a fourth round of talks have proven difficult. Analysts expect China to use quiet diplomacy to get Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. During the talks Beijing has sent teams to Pyongyang to see what its ally is really thinking. It has also helped explain some of Pyongyang's stranger rhetoric to the world.
The Australian Foreign Minister, Mr Alexander Downer, spoke with the North Korean Ambassador, Mr Chon Jae Hong, and US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, and said he hoped the climate for talks would improve.
Many Korea-watchers say Pyongyang is playing diplomatic cat-and-mouse with Washington, particularly with the attention of the US focused on Iran's nuclear programme at the moment.
In a defiant display of solidarity by two of the countries which made up, with Iraq, President Bush's infamous Axis of Evil, North Korea sent a message to Iran on Thursday to mark the 26th anniversary of the Islamic Republic and to praise its success in defending its sovereignty.
Pyongyang probably has enough plutonium to make around eight weapons, though proliferation experts are sceptical about the country's ability to actually launch them. Pyongyang's announcement this week that it has nuclear weapons was very likely a negotiation tactic to ensure more economic aid from the US.
Even though the economy has made some progress in recent years, North Korea is desperately poor and has suffered from food shortages for many years. It wants economic aid and security guarantees in return for abandoning its nuclear programme.