Be ‘cool-headed’ with Pyongyang, China tells US

China has urged the US to adopt a “cool-headed” approach to dealing with tensions in the Korean peninsula and North Korea’s increasing belligerence, reports said on Saturday after foreign minister Wang Yi met US secretary of state Rex Tillerson in Beijing.

Tillerson arrived in the city on the last leg of his Asia tour a day after talking about military options against North Korea during his meetings in Seoul.

Pyongyang has triggered both tension and anger by conducting two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since early 2016. Earlier this month, it launched four ballistic missiles and is said to be working on nuclear-tipped missiles that can hit the US.

The US feels that China, North Korea’s closest ally and economic benefactor, isn’t doing enough to defuse the situation. President Donald Trump had tweeted that North Korea was “behaving very badly” and China had done “little to help”.

Tillerson conveyed Washington’s worry over the situation.

“We hope that all parties, including our friends from the United States, could size up the situation in a cool-headed and comprehensive fashion and arrive at a wise decision,” Wang said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Friday talks were the best way to resolve the problems of the Korean peninsula.