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Beijing fears radiation leak along border, say Chinese insiders China has been quietly and gently pressuring North Korea to scrap plans for a third nuclear test, said two sources with knowledge of closed-door discussions between the countries, but there is no indication how Pyongyang will react.  If North Korea goes ahead with the test, China would consider taking some retaliatory steps, but they would not be substantive, a source with ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said. North Korea has almost completed preparations for the test, Reuters had reported in late April, a step that would further isolate the impoverished state after last month's failed rocket launch that the United States says was a ballistic missile test. "China is unhappy ... and urged North Korea not to conduct a nuclear test near Changbai Mountain," said the source, who declined to be identified. China feared a radiation leak and damage to the environment from a blast, the source added. "China also complained about the environmental damage to the area after the first two tests." When North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, it caused environmental damage to the mountain straddling the border with China. North Korea ceded part of the mountain to China in 1963. It was unclear if the secretive North Korean government, typically unwilling to bow to outside pressure, would defer or drop the plans. China is the closest thing to an ally that North Korea has. "The impact on China's northeast would be huge," the source said of a third test. Chinese officials have discussed whether threats of diplomatic action would be effective, but any action might be restricted to some economic measures to signal China's displeasure and would not affect vital food aid for North Korea, the source said. A Western diplomat, who also asked not to be identified, confirmed that China has put pressure on North Korea to abandon the test. Major diplomatic repercussions were unlikely, however, s

South Korea Group of Springhill | edublogs.org May 22, '12 12:35 AM by SpringHill for everyone http://tonybricks96.edublogs.org/ http://tonybricks96.edublogs.org/2012/05/21/scrap-n-test-china-tells-n-korea/ China has been quietly and gently pressuring North Korea to scrap plans for a third nuclear test, said two sources with knowledge of closed-door discussions between the countries, but there is no indication how Pyongyang will react. If North Korea goes ahead with the test, China would consider taking some retaliatory steps, but they would not be substantive, a source with ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said. North Korea has almost completed preparations for the test, Reuters had reported in late April, a step that would further isolate the impoverished state after last month's failed rocket launch that the United States says was a ballistic missile test. "China is unhappy … and urged North Korea not to conduct a nuclear test near Changbai Mountain," said the source, who declined to be identified. China feared a radiation leak and damage to the environment from a blast, the source added. "China also complained about the environmental damage to the area after the first two tests." When North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, it caused environmental damage to the mountain straddling the border with China. North Korea ceded part of the mountain to China in 1963. It was unclear if the secretive North Korean government, typically unwilling to bow to outside pressure, would defer or drop the plans. China is the closest thing to an ally that North Korea has. "The impact on China's northeast would be huge," the source said of a third test. Chinese officials have discussed whether threats of diplomatic action would be effective, but any action might be restricted to some economic measures to signal China's displeasure and would not affect vital food aid for North Korea, the source said. A Western diplomat, who also asked n

Sony, the giant Japanese electronics maker, plans to cut 6% of its workforce or around 10,000 jobs as they continue with their efforts to restructure their business, the 3rd job cut since 2005. It has already sold 2 divisions and is now scaling back its TV production.   According to Bloomberg's data, the biggest consumer electronics exporter in Japan has 168,200 staff last year. Around half of the job cuts resulted from publicized deals the company has previously made. Last month, Sony sold a chemicals subsidiary to the Development Bank of Japan while it spun off small LCD production last year into a joint deal with Toshiba and Hitachi. The remaining 5,000 job cuts will come from its unprofitable TV division that is now being overhauled in hopes of restoring the firm's health.   The 51-year old CEO, Kazuo Hirai, replaced Howard Stringer this month and immediately set out to do his promise of "unavoidable, painful choices" in order to turn the company's operations into a more profitable one.   Hirai has been credited in making the PlayStation business profitable; now he is set to put himself in charge of and bring a new team for the firm's TV business. Sony even revealed a new organizational chart that has omitted a management layer between the CEO and the head of TV department so Hirai could manage them directly.