Beijing Urges to Avoid Escalation Amid North Korea’s Missile Launches
Военные учения США и Южной Кореи с использованием Армейского тактического ракетного комплекса
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – China is closely monitoring the development of the situation on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea launched news missiles and hopes that all parties to the regional conflict will avoid escalation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.Earlier in the day, North Korea launched at least 17 missiles toward the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, and fired 100 rounds of artillery shots. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, one of the missiles landed close to South Korea’s territorial waters.”China is closely following the developments of the Korean Peninsula situation… We hope relevant parties can keep to the direction of seeking political settlement, meet each other halfway, and avoid a spiral of escalation,” Zhao said at a regular press conference.The diplomat added that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula meets the common interests of the countries of the region.Wednesday’s launch is North Korea’s 29th this year. North Korea has insisted that its test launches are being carried out in response to “provocations” by South Korea, which has recently been conducting active military exercises both independently and jointly with the United States and Japan.