Beijing 'does not hold the key' to peninsula issue

Beijing expressed its opposition to Pyongyang's use of ballistic missile technology in violation of UN Security Council resolutions on Friday, calling for restraint from all relevant parties.

"The current situation on the Korean Peninsula is complicated, sensitive and severe. All relevant parties should remain calm and avoid actions that intensify tensions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile that flew over northern Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean earlier in the day.

Hua also said it is "irresponsible" to blame Beijing for regional tensions after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to use the "powerful tool" of oil to persuade Pyongyang to reconsider its "current path".

According to Hua, China has strictly and comprehensively implemented UN Security Council resolutions, and has made "enormous sacrifices at a great price".

"Our sincerity and efforts should not be doubted," she said.

She noted that the essence of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is a security issue, and the core is conflict between Pyongyang and Washington.

"China is not the driver behind the escalation of the tensions. China also does not hold the key to the Korean Peninsula issue. The initiators of trouble should end it," she said.

"It's irresponsible and unhelpful for the settlement of the issue to unjustly blame others and shirk responsibilities in any form," she added.

In the longest flight for a DPRK missile, it reached an altitude of about 770 kilometers and flew for about 19 minutes over a distance of about 3,700 km, according to the Republic of Korea's military — far enough to reach the US territory of Guam, Reuters reported.

The ROK's military said it conducted a live-fire drill by mobilizing Hyunmoo-2A ballistic missiles about six minutes after the DPRK's missile launch.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Pyongyang's latest missile launch on Friday, at the request of the US and Japanese delegations, days after it unanimously adopted a new resolution imposing more sanctions over Pyongyang's Sept 3 nuclear test.

Shi Yongming, a researcher at the China Institute of International Relations, said the US never tries to determine what its own problem is, but insists on blaming China for the current tensions.

"However, whatever China does will not fundamentally solve the issue," he said.

Zhou Jin contributed to this story.