Prudence urged amid nuclear test warning by DPRK

Democratic People's Republic of Korea launches a long range rocket launched into the air in this file still image taken from KRT video footage, released by Yonhap on February 7, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Beijing called on Tuesday for a prudent approach to the situation on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang warned of an impending nuclear warhead test and launch of several ballistic missiles.

China also reaffirmed that United Nations resolutions should be fully implemented.

"We urge all sides to conscientiously carry out the UN Security Council resolutions, speak and act cautiously, and not take any action that would exacerbate tensions on the Korean Peninsula," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular news briefing.

Kim Jong-un, leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, said a nuclear warhead test and the launch of "several kinds" of ballistic missiles would be carried out shortly, the DPRK's official KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye told a Cabinet meeting that if the DPRK "continues its provocations ... and does not walk the path of change, it will walk the path of self-destruction", Agence France-Presse reported.

China intensified its diplomatic efforts, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterating that provocations "in word or deed" should cease.

He has also called for new talks with the DPRK on nuclear disarmament during a series of fresh talks and meetings with his counterparts from the United States, ROK, Russia and Japan.

Wang, who met his Russian counterpart on Friday, had telephone conversations with his counterparts from the ROK and Japan on Monday.

According to the Foreign Ministry's website, they agreed it was important to implement UN resolutions "in a complete and comprehensive manner".

Reaffirming Beijing's stance against Pyongyang carrying out a nuclear test and missile launches, Lu said China is committed to the full implementation of UN sanctions against the DPRK. The government has always strictly implemented UN resolutions and will ensure Chinese enterprises and related authorities honor their implementation, he said.

Zuo Xiying, an international studies specialist at the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China, said Beijing's commitment to UN resolutions sends a clear signal to the DPRK that conducting nuclear tests and missile launches jeopardizes regional peace and stability.

Beijing, on the one hand, has to ask the US and the ROK to exercise restraint and, on the other, persuade Pyongyang to stop using bellicose words, he added.