Foreign Ministry urges restraint on Korean Peninsula

All parties involved in the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue should exercise restraint and not speak or behave in a way that escalates tensions, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

Tensions have soared this week after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea declared that it had successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier on Tuesday.

Less than 24 hours afterward, armed forces of the Republic of Korea and the United States launched shortrange ballistic missiles of their own from the peninsula into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday.

DPRK leader Kim Jong-un said on Wednesday that his nation will “demonstrate its mettle to the US” and never put its weapons programs up for negotiations, the Associated Press reported.

Geng said the situation on the peninsula is complicated and sensitive, but China’s position is clear, and the other parties involved are aware of that.

The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting about the situation on Wednesday in New York.

When asked about China’s message to be delivered at the meeting, Geng said it is hoped that the discussions push the nuclear issue closer to dialogue, consultations and a peaceful resolution.

Between the two missile launches, the foreign ministries of China and Russia issued a joint statement on the peninsula issue, stating “serious concerns” about the situation.

The escalating political and military tensions in the region could trigger armed conflict, and the international community should take collective measures to peacefully resolve this through consultation, the statement said.

China and Russia proposed that the DPRK voluntarily make political decisions and announce the suspension of its nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, and that the US and the ROK accordingly suspend their large-scale joint military drill.

On Wednesday, Geng added that the joint statement showcases voices from the international community calling for dialogue and the easing of tensions.

The statement aims to address the root causes and symptoms, and the proposed solution is objective, fair, reasonable, realistic and viable, he said.