U.N. Council Calls Korea Meeting

The U.N. Security Council has called an emergency meeting to address concerns about rising tensions on the Korean peninsula and chilling new threats from the North. South Korea plans to conduct artillery drills sometime in the next several days (most likely Monday or Tuesday), a move North Korea said would invite a severe response that would end in a “catastrophe” for its southern neighbor. China and Russia have urged Seoul to abandon plans for the military exercises, but the United States stands behind them. "A country has every right to train and exercise its military in its own self-defense," said a State Department spokesman. "North Korea should not use any future legitimate training exercises as justification to undertake further provocative actions.” New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is acting as a diplomatic envoy to the North, attempting to prevent further escalation.