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China is under mounting pressure from the United States as tensions on the Korean Peninsula continued to run high on Wednesday.

The US will send a delegation headed by Deputy Secretary of State and former special envoy to Pyongyang James B. Steinberg to China on Dec 14 to try to persuade Beijing to put more pressure on Pyongyang.

Other figures in the delegation are National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Jeffrey Bader, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, and Special Envoy Sung Kim.

The visit was announced as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired an unknown number of artillery shells that landed on its own side of a disputed maritime border off its west coast on Wednesday morning.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is also conducting live-fire drills in the area.

The exercises also came as US Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for a two-day trip that will also take him to Japan.

Mullen said there was "no doubt in my mind (that provocations) will continue unless leaders step forward and put Pyongyang in a position where they realize their behavior has to change".

The US and ROK militaries also agreed on Wednesday to stage more joint military drills following last week's giant exercise of the west coast to deter the DPRK.

Mullen's trip to the ROK and Japan follows talks in Washington on Monday between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Japanese and ROK counterparts.

All three voiced grave concerns over the DPRK attacks, and called on China to take actions against them.

On Tuesday, Beijing reiterated that dialogue was the only way to calm escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

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（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.