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North Korea previously conducted three nuclear tests: in 2006, in 2009 and in 2013. In response, the United Nations Security Council imposed various sanctions on Pyongyang [Xinhua]
But Beijing also called for calm and urged Japan, South Korea and the US not to take any actions that could exacerbate the situation.
“The situation of the peninsula currently is sensitive and complicated,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.
Japan, South Korea and the US called for an emergency Security Council meeting on Monday to discuss Pyongyang’s launch of an intermediate missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
On Monday, a North Korean envoy in Geneva said the missile launch was in “self-defense to provocative actions” taken by the US and Seoul.
China has also blamed the US for raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called on China to exert pressure on North Korea to halt its weapons program.
“As a permanent member of the Security Council and chair of the six-party talks, and as a country that accounts for 90 percent of North Korea’s trade, China’s role is extremely important,” Suga told reporters.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
