Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd urged China to "step up to the plate" and rein in communist ally North Korea after Beijing's cautious response to the deadly shelling of a South Korean island.

Rudd said China, North Korea's giant neighbour, needed to adopt a stronger stance after a series of "highly provocative acts" culminating in Tuesday's attack on Yeonpyeong island, which left four people dead.

"On this question, which goes to the heart of the political and security order of the world, again, it's important, I believe, for China to step up to the plate," Rudd told the Australia Network TV station late on Thursday.

"To be fair to China, North Korea doesn't simply jump when Beijing says jump, and North Korea is very much a self-contained political entity. At the same time though, China has some considerable influence," he added.

On Thursday, China called for restraint on all sides and warned against "provocative" acts, while opposing show-of-force military exercises involving South Korea and its ally the United States which start this weekend.

Rudd said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also called for tougher action from China.

"I won't go to the detail of the diplomatic conversation, but I think it's fair to say that many of us are seeking to impress upon our friends in Beijing the importance of applying much more decisive pressure on the regime in Pyongyang," he said.

Tuesday's attack comes after South Korea blamed the North for sinking one of its warships in March, killing 46 sailors, and follows the revelation of a uranium enrichment facility which could build nuclear weapons.

"If the North Koreans continue to act in this provocative way, it's fair to ask the question, where does that all end in terms of South Korea's ability to simply continue to turn the other cheek," Rudd said.

"This, therefore, in terms of the stability of the Peninsula, the relevance which that has for stability in the wider region, and the relevance that has for economic growth… in the wider region, including China, means that China also has a responsibility to speak very directly to their friends in Pyongyang."

earlier related report

S.Korea boosts defences as North warns of more strikes
Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea (AFP) Nov 26, 2010 –

South Korea said Thursday it would send more troops and guns to frontline islands, as North Korea warned it could follow up this week's deadly shelling with more attacks.

Pyongyang's fresh warning came as a US aircraft carrier headed for the tense peninsula to join war games to be staged as a show of force to the nuclear-armed communist state.

Seoul is expected to name a new defence minister Friday after the incumbent Kim Tae-Young resigned following growing criticism that the South's military and government reacted too softly to the assault.

The North's unprecedented artillery bombardment of Yeonpyeong island on Tuesday killed two marines and two civilians, injured 18 more people and turned homes into charred ruins.

The government said Thursday it would revise its rules of engagement, allowing troops to hit back harder if necessary.

The attack on Tuesday was the first time the North had shelled a civilian area since the 1950-53 war.

It provoked the worst crisis on the peninsula in years, with the international community agonising over how to respond. South Korea and the United States, among others, pressed China to rein in its neighbour.

The North accused the United States and its "warmongering South Korean puppets" of provoking the attack. It said South Korea's military in an exercise fired shells within what the North claims as its own waters.

The regime said that if the South commits "another reckless military provocation, our army will carry out second and third rounds of powerful physical retaliatory strikes without hesitation".

On the island hit by the North's fiery hail of rockets and missiles, grim-faced soldiers trudged through broken glass, debris and the blackened wreckage of homes.

Authorities were evacuating most of the remaining residents. Hundreds of terrified islanders fled soon after the surprise bombardment.

Stung by criticism from newspapers crying for revenge, the South said the current "rather passive" rules of engagement would be completely revised.

The military will reinforce ground forces, especially on five border islands, and set different levels of counter-attack "depending on whether attacks are targeted against civilians or the military", the presidential office said.

The South's military said it believed it had inflicted serious damage on the North in the incident, Yonhap news agency reported.

"As we responded with 80 shells from K-9 howitzers in a pinpointed attack, North Korea is expected to have suffered severe damage," Yonhap quoted Lieutenant Colonel Ju Jong-Wha as saying.

Marines based on Yeonpyeong also defended themselves from criticism that they had responded with too little, too late after the surprise attack.

World powers are struggling to draw up a response to the latest actions by a regime that has in recent years staged two nuclear tests and fired long-range missiles.

It is also accused of sinking a South Korean warship in March with the loss of 46 lives, a charge it denies.

Many observers believe the attack was meant to highlight the military credentials of heir apparent Kim Jong-Un, youngest son of leader Kim Jong-Il.

North Korean state television and radio interspersed repeated broadcasts of official statements about the shelling with martial music Thursday, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported.

A senior Seoul government official, speaking to foreign reporters on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday's attack must have been ordered by leader Kim in person.

The official said that in order to forestall a war or an additional provocation "it's crucial for us to reinforce our military readiness and send a very serious message to North Korea — so that they can make a correct judgment in the future."

Seoul, he said without elaborating, "will not hesitate to use all kinds of measures" following any future attack.

Seoul also wants to review its current agreement to consult the US-led United Nations Command before using South Korean aircraft in combat.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with ally South Korea, where 28,500 American troops are stationed.

But in the tense standoff, the United States and its allies face few appealing choices, analysts say — resuming talks, which could be seen as rewarding aggression; easing the tone and risking further provocation; or toughening its position at the risk of sparking a full-blown war.

"This is the land of lousy options… You can choose between bad, worse and the worst," former diplomat Victor Cha told a group of fellow analysts.

China has refrained from strongly criticising its ally over the attack.

Instead, its foreign ministry expressed "concern" over plans for the joint US-South Korean naval exercises, saying: "We oppose any act that undermines peace and stability on the peninsula."

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