Two top North Korean officials arrived in Beijing today amid sharp tensions on the Korean peninsula following the North's artillery attack on the South. Japanese and South Korean media reports say, Kim Yong-II, the head of the international department of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, arrived in Beijing on a flight from Pyongyang. Choe Thae-Bok, Chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly and considered a close confidant of leader Kim Jong-Il, also arrived for a visit.China's Xinhua news agency had said that Choe would be visiting until December 4, but its state media had made no previous mention of a visit by Kim, who is a top official in charge of diplomatic matters.Tensions in the region escalated since North Korea launched an artillery barrage on a South Korean border island last week, killing two marines and two civilians and setting homes ablaze. China, as North Korea's major ally, has come under pressure to use its influence to rein in Pyongyang, but Beijing has so far refused to publicly take sides.