Fog may delay South Korean drill, after North's threat

YEONPYEONG, South Korea (Reuters) - Bad weather on Saturday appeared likely to delay a live-fire drill by South Korean marines that drew North Korean threats of another military attack and renewed calls for restraint by China.

The South Korean military had planned the exercise for December 18-21 off the small island of Yeonpyeong, hit by a North Korean bombardment last month.

However, military officials quoted by Yonhap news agency said the drills were likely to be delayed by fog and wind.

Analysts were skeptical the North would carry out the threat it issued on Friday, which rattled financial markets and brought a vow by the South to retaliate against any attack by Pyongyang.

But tensions on the peninsula remained high, with a U.S. troubleshooter, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, calling the situation "a tinderbox" and urging the North to let the rival South conduct exercises.

China, the North's main backer, urged both nations to refrain from acts that would inflame an already "extremely precarious" situation.

"The serious tension on the peninsula must not be allowed to escalate," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said on Saturday. "China is firmly against any behavior that may result in the situation deteriorating or damaging regional stability."

The U.N. Security Council called an emergency session for Sunday at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) to discuss the escalating tensions, council diplomats said on Saturday.

Yeonpyeong is a usually sleepy place. But the island is also only a short distance from the Northern Line Limit (NLL) -- the sea border declared at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War but still disputed by the North.

Many of the 1,600 residents, who live alongside 1,000 military personnel, are uneasy about the prospect of a new barrage and have chosen to leave for the mainland for a while.

A marine corps officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military would only announce plans for the drills a few hours in advance, and only to media on the island.

North Korea said on Friday it would retaliate against the drills with a stronger strike than last month's bombardment, in which it rained 170 rounds of artillery down on Yeonpyeong, killing four people. South Korea hit back with 80 rounds.

On Saturday, the North's state media launched a blistering assault on the South's pledge to cooperate with the United States and retaliate in the event of another bombardment. They suggested any such move could trigger a nuclear conflict.

"It is a suicidal move akin to digging one's own grave for the South's conservative forces to gang up with outside elements to try to harm compatriots," the official publication of the North's cabinet, Minju Joson, said in an editorial.

The North's foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency: "We will be sure to settle scores with the U.S. for the extreme situation on the Korean peninsula." He added: "Our military does not speak empty words."

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang said Beijing recently summoned the ambassadors of both Koreas to remind them of China's "position and proposals."

Russia called on South Korea to halt plans for the drill, summoning the ambassadors from Seoul and Washington to express "extreme concern" over the exercise.

"ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR MISCALCULATION"

In Pyongyang, Governor Richardson, on a private mission to cool tensions, told CNN in a telephone interview: "There's enormous potential for miscalculation."

He added: "I'm urging (on the North) extreme restraint ... Let's cool things down."

The U.S. State Department underscored the U.S. stance that South Korea had every right to conduct the exercises, but indicated that it, too, was worried.

"We trust that South Korea will be very cautious in terms of what it does, but that said, let's put the responsibility squarely where it lies," a State Department spokesman said.

North Korea is seeking the resumption of six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia aimed at persuading Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.

It wants the talks to resume without preconditions, something Washington and South Korea have ruled out because they do not want to reward Pyongyang for hostile actions.

Analysts say the North uses the threat of attacks and even nuclear conflict to win concessions such as food and economic aid at talks over its nuclear stockpile.

At the same time as the poor, reclusive country is pushing for aid, the North is also in the throes of a potential leadership succession as ailing leader Kim Jong-il grooms his youngest son Kim Jong-un as the next ruler.

(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Beijing and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Miral Fahmy, Andrew Roche and Eric Walsh)