Talks only way to ease tension: China

Beijing, May 16: China said on Wednesday that North Korea and the United States should hold their historic summit as planned after Pyongyang threatened to pull out of the highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump.

North Korea also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises being held between the US and South Korea, denouncing the drills as a “rude and wicked provocation”.

“The situation on the peninsula has eased up, which is worth cherishing,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing. “We hope... some of the high-level meetings that (have been working towards can be held smoothly and... results can be achieved,” he said.

“Only in this way can the easing up of the peninsula be consolidated, contributing to peace and stability in the region.”

North Korea threatened Wednesday to withdraw from the June 12 summit in Singapore if Washington seeks to push Pyongyang into unilaterally giving up its nuclear arsenal.

It is a sudden and dramatic return to the the rhetoric of the past by Pyongyang, after months of rapid diplomatic rapprochement on the flashpoint peninsula.

President Xi Jinping told Pak that China supports Kim's leadership and backs dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, the official Xinhua news agency said.