Korea Latest: As US-South Korea Drills Begin, Journalists Ordered to Leave

UPDATE 1110 GMT: Yonhap News interprets South Korea's flurry of varying message on China's call for six-party talks:

The foreign ministry said Sunday that China's offer to resume six-party talks on North Korea "should be studied very carefully," stressing that creating the right atmosphere for reopening the negotiations is a priority.

The reaction was seen as a de facto rejection of Beijing's proposal that the chief delegates from the six nations meet in early December to discuss tensions on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea's deadly artillery strike on a South Korean island.

UPDATE 1035 GMT: South Korea has shifted its position (see 0909 GMT) on the Chinese intervention, now saying it will "carefully consider" Beijing's call for a resumption of six-party talks.

UPDATE 0909 GMT: A spokesman for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has quickly knocked back Beijing's call for resumed six-party talks, saying Lee made clear to Chinese officials that this was "not timely".

UPDATE 0855 GMT: China has called for resumption of six-party talks on the regional situation and North Korea's nuclear programme.

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Joint military drills by the South Korean and US militaries have begun in the Yellow Sea off the western coast of Korea. 

Before the drills, there were further postures by both North and South. South Korean military sources saying North Korea had deployed Soviet-made SA-2 surface-to-air missiles and placed longer-range surface missiles on launch pads. North Korean state radio said its forces would unleash "a merciless shower of fire" if its territory was violated.

Seoul's Ministry of National Defense has texted an "emergency announcement" that all journalists must leave Yeonpyeong Island, the target of North Korea's artillery barrage on Tuesday. The message said it was "unpredictable what kind of provocative action North Korea will take using using the South Korea-US joint drills as a justification".

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has called on Beijing to take a "fair and responsible" attitude toward North Korea's action. A spokesman said Lee "asked China to play a role to match its new status in dealing with inter-Korean relations to pursue coexistence and peace in the 21st century after the end of the Cold War in the 20th century". 

The President's office said Lee would deliver a special, televised message on Monday morning "to clarify the government's position on the North's provocation and inter-Korean ties".