China seeks to ease tension after H-bomb claim by DPRK

Beijing called on Thursday for constructive efforts to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula.

The appeal came after a report said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un had announced that his country is capable of detonating a hydrogen bomb.

The DPRK has turned into "a powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate (a) self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb to reliably defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation", the official KCNA news agency reported on Thursday, quoting Kim.

Kim made the remarks while inspecting a historical military site. Previously, the DPRK has said its pursuit of nuclear weapons stems from a "hostile US policy" toward the nation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference in Beijing that China has consistently upheld achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, safe-guarding peace and stability there and resolving issues through dialogue and reconciliation.

Hua said all parties involved are expected to make constructive efforts to do more to help ease the situation and to achieve an early restart of the Six-Party Talks.

Wang Junsheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Kim's announcement is not helpful as it may lead to further isolation of the DPRK in the international community.

Huang Youfu, a Korean studies professor at Minzu University of China, said the Republic of Korea and the US may consider strengthening their cooperation to curb the DPRK's nuclear capability.

Contact the writers at zhang-yunbi@chinadaily.com.cn