国际英语新闻：Russia urges joint efforts to mitigate Korean Peninsula tensions

MOSCOW, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Ministry Monday expressed its "extreme concern" over the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, urging the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to jointly mitigate tensions on the peninsula.

"Increased military activity in the region amid lack of dialogue between the parties raises serious concerns," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin said in a statement released after his meeting with South Korean Ambassador to Russia Lee Yun-ho.

Borodavkin also stressed "the unacceptability of the use of force", saying the peninsula is in urgent need of defusing the current tensions between the two sides.

An exchange of artillery fire between the ROK and DPRK last week killed four people, and aroused the concerns of the international community.

China Sunday proposed emergency consultations among heads of the delegations to the Six-Party Talks next month as tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula.

The Interfax News agency Monday quoted a source from the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that Russia is studying China' s initiative.

China has repeatedly called for calm and restraint, urging the resumption of the stalled Six-Party Talks among China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan.

The talks, launched in 2003, stalled when the DPRK quit in April 2009.