During an interview with Japanese public broadcaster NHK on Tuesday morning, Premier Wen Jiabao again expressed his worries about the rising tension on the Korean Peninsula.

What China has in mind in approaching the incident, in which 46 ROK sailors died after their warship sank in March, is maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, Wen said.

China attaches importance to the joint investigation conducted by the ROK and other countries and the reactions of various sides, and will take its position on the basis of truth and facts, he said.

He repeated calls for calm and restraint to avoid a further escalation of tension and even conflict.

The premier said China had a direct stake in resolving the stand-off because if there is a clash, the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and ROK will suffer the most harm and China will also be affected.

"In China, we have a proverb: 'If the city gate catches fire, the disaster affects even the fish in the moat'," Wen said, citing a traditional saying meaning that innocent bystanders are vulnerable to troubles at their doorstep.

"Only neighboring countries will have this feeling," he said.

A limited military clash between the DPRK and ROK will still rattle the region, which some observers said remains extremely unlikely.

Responding to Seoul's pledge to take the incident to the UN Security Council, Wen said China understands the current difficult situation ROK President Lee Myung-bak and the ROK government are facing.

"We will conscientiously study all aspects of the situation and reactions to it. We will fairly and objectively express our position," Wen told his interviewer.

China also maintains that any approach on the issue must serve the fundamental interest of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

The premier said he had discussed the issue for nearly four hours in talks with the ROK president.

He also said that Japan is an important country in Northeast Asia and a close neighbor of China and the ROK. China is ready to cooperate with Japan on such issues as safeguarding security in Northeast Asia, he said.

China-Japan relations

Speaking of China's tremendous social and economic progress since its reform and opening-up policy more than 30 years ago, Wen said the country will stick to the path of "peaceful and harmonious development".

"Both China and Japan should take the road of peaceful development. Therefore, both the Chinese and Japanese peoples should understand and trust each other and cooperate with each other," he said.

China's emphasis on taking history as a mirror and looking into the future is not intended to perpetuate hatred, but to promote the feelings and friendship between the two peoples and to prevent a repeat of past tragedies, Wen said.

He called on the leaders, media and academic circles of both countries to play their part in facilitating the exchange of thoughts and friendship between the two peoples and in promoting their mutual understanding.