West Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton says China needs to help ease the tensions in North Korea.

North Korea is blamed for killing nearly 50 people in recent attacks against South Korea. Congressman Ike Skelton sums the situation up by saying “it’s dangerous, very dangerous.”

He says Kim Jong Un, the chosen successor to Kim Jong Il, is making an example of South Korea to make a point.

He says China can help bring them to the table to have some solid discussions with other countries in the area.

North Korean news reports say Kim Jong Un was chosen because of three sons, he was most like his father, Kim Jong Il.

A top military officer agrees with Skelton and is accusing China of failing to rein in North Korea — it’s ally — following Pyongyang’s artillery attack near the Korean peninsula.

Admiral Mike Mullen spoke in Seoul, Korea, that China has more influence over North Korea than any other country but seems to be unwilling to use that influence. China’s “tacit approval of Pyongyang’s brazenness” has left neighboring countries asking what moves by North Korea will be next, he says.

Mullen is the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He remarked on the mounting tensions in Korea at a press conference with South Korea’s top military officer, General Han Min-koo.

Kim Kim Jong Un is set to lead North Korea. According to Korean news sources, his eldest half-brother, Kim Jong Nam , had been the favorite to succeed, but reportedly fell out of favour after 2001, when he was caught attempting to enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

Kim Jong Il’s former personal chef, Kenji Fujimoto says the eldest son, Jong Chul, “is too feminine in character,” while Jong Un is “exactly like his father.”