Stay calm over launch, Beijing says

UN condemns DPRK and calls for renewed talks, which China backs

Beijing urged all parties on Wednesday to honestly and fully implement UN Security Council resolutions on Pyongyang, and called for those directly involved to take a responsible role amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also dismissed statements that "China should do more to pressure Pyongyang", saying that some of the parties concerned were only selectively carrying out the UN resolutions by emphasizing sanctions yet ignoring dialogues.

"When it comes to sanctions, they storm to the front, but when it comes to pushing for peaceful talks, they hide at the very back. This is not the attitude responsible countries should have," she said.

Hua was speaking following a strong condemnation on Tuesday by the UN Security Council in a president's statement of the latest missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The DPRK fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan on Tuesday.

The Security Council requested Pyongyang not to conduct any future nuclear tests or any further provocation, while expressing its commitment to a peaceful solution to the situation.

"We hope all related parties will implement the provisions of the resolutions in an honest, comprehensive and integrated manner, and pull the peninsula nuclear issue back to the right track of peaceful resolution," Hua said at a news conference.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said on Wednesday that China was discussing the situation with other Security Council members and will make the "necessary response".

However, Wang noted that all measures against the DPRK should be under the Security Council framework and should be carried out according to Security Council resolutions. Wang urged all parties to avoid actions that exacerbate tensions.

The DPRK said on Wednesday the launch was a first step in military action in the Pacific to "contain" the US territory of Guam, after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that "all options are on the table".

Yu Shaohua, a researcher of Korean Peninsula studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said the unbalanced implementation of UN resolutions has existed for quite a long time.

"The consequences are unfavorable for all related countries and the whole region as well," she said.