Russia, China pledge closer ties as joint military drills begin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have pledged to forge closer bilateral ties amid festering tensions with the United States.
The leaders met in Shanghai Tuesday on the opening day of joint military drills that are likely to draw disapproval from Seoul as they overlap with South Korea's recently expanded air defense identification zone.
Shin Se-min reports.
Meeting in Shanghai Tuesday, Presidents Xi and Putin agreed to strengthen their economic and military ties.
They also held in-depth talks about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Praising the tightening military ties between the two sides, President Putin said he was convinced Moscow and Beijing could forge a strong strategic partnership and that bilateral military co-operation was developing very well.
Putin's visit to China coincided with the beginning of the two countries' joint naval exercises 'Joint Sea 2014'.
The drills have raised red flags in Seoul as they will overlap with South Korea's expanded air defense identification zone.
Neither Moscow nor Beijing notified the South Korean government prior to its announcement.
It's the first time an international military exercise has taken place within Korean waters since the expansion of the air defense zone last December.

On the business front,... the two leaders failed to narrow their differences on a natural gas supply agreement worth of 4-hundred billion U.S. dollars.
A 30-year contract between the Russian state-controlled fuel supplier and Chinese National Petroleum Corporation was left unsigned,... as both sides couldn't agree on a price at which Russia would supply gas.
Moscow wants to find new buyers for its gas outside of Europe.
This is because U.S. allies in Europe have imposed sanctions against Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

In regards to the security situation on the Korean peninsula,... both sides said they were concerned about North Korea's nuclear program and the simmering political and military tensions between the two Koreas.
China and Russia stressed the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization are the only effective way of reaching a deal everyone is happy with.
They called on all parties to do more to secure peace and stability in the region.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.