"China thinks the draft resolution is an overreaction to the DPRK's missile issue. If approved, it will escalate the contradictions and increase tension in the region," she told a regular press briefing.

"The draft resolution will undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, hurt the efforts to resume the Six-Party Talks as well as lead to a split in the UN Security Council."

Japan formally presented a draft resolution on Friday, seeking sanctions against the DPRK.

The draft, co-sponsored by Britain, France and the United States, invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which authorizes sanctions or even military action.

But Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said that Japan would wait a while before it pushes for a vote on the matter.

Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya speaks after a meeting of the UN Security Council at the United Nations in New York, July 10, 2006. [Reuters]

Asked how long Japan would wait, Abe said the country would not push for a vote for at least a few days.

China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that a resolution imposing sanctions would "not calm down the situation," and urged other members of the UN Security Council to be flexible.

China on Monday introduced a draft UN Security Council presidential statement on the missile launches on July 5 by the DPRK.

The draft statement, which is supported by Russia and does not carry the weight of a resolution, calls for the concerned parties to work together on the early resumption of the Six-Party Talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, China's top negotiator to the Six-Party Talks, is in Pyongyang as part of a delegation led by Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu on a goodwill visit, which is widely expected to help push for the resumption of the six-nation talks.