S. Korean president steps up pressure on N. Korea to resume dialogue.

WARSAW, July 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged North Korea Tuesday to stop its provocative missile tests and return to a dialogue with the international community, noting that the North's military threats are hindering South Korea's efforts to overcome the global economic crisis. "South Korea is moving forward despite the global crisis by thoroughly planning every step for the future," Lee said in a meeting with a group of South Korean nationals living in Poland. The South Korean president arrived here earlier Tuesday as part of a three-nation trip that will take him to Italy and Sweden later in the week. "But we are not without any difficulties," he said. "Because North Korea conducted a nuclear test and fired long-range missiles, many countries throughout the world had to gather and discuss challenges posed by North Korea." North Korea launched a long-range rocket in April in what was believed to be a ballistic missile test disguised as a space launch. The isolated communist country also conducted its second atomic test on May 25, prompting a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the test and imposing various sanctions. At a summit in Washington last month, Lee and U.S. President Barack Obama noted such provocative actions by North Korea were aimed at winning concessions or economic aid from the international community. The South Korean president on Tuesday renewed his pledge to break what ...