China and Russia have begun military drills near North Korea in the latest show of force in the region. <br /><br />The naval exercises – the second between the two powers this year – are reported to be taking place near Russia’s far eastern port of Vladivostok. <br /><br />US and South Korean forces are also staging joint air operations in the Korean peninsula. <br /><br />The flurry of military drills comes ahead of a UN General Assembly meeting on Tuesday where Pyongyang’s atomic ambitions are expected to loom large. <br /><br />Beijing and Moscow have repeatedly called for a peaceful solution and talks to resolve the North’s nuclear programme. <br /><br />On Friday, Kim Jong-uns reclusive regime fired another mid-range ballistic missile over Japan. <br /><br />That came less than two weeks after it conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. <br /><br />Over the weekend US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the United Nations Security-Council had run out of options on containing Pyongyang’s atomic programme, warning that Washington might have to turn the matter over to the Pentagon.<br />
