China has called for “calm and restraint” after North Korea reacted to a new series of UN sanctions with vows of a nuclear strike and cancellation of peace deals with South Korea.
“China calls on relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint, and avoid actions that might further escalate tensions,” said Hua Chunying, the spokeswoman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Friday.
She further expressed concern over the current “highly complex and sensitive” situation on the divided Korean peninsula.
On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution, drafted by the United States and China, against North Korea, tightening Pyongyang’s financial dealings and adding new names to the UN sanctions blacklist.
Ahead of the UN vote, Pyongyang threatened to launch “pre-emptive” nuclear strikes on the United States to defend itself in the event that Washington ignited a nuclear war.
North Korea also cancelled all agreements on non-aggression with South Korea and cut the hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul.
Hua went on to say, “We believe the resolution is a balanced one,” adding, “China is objective and fair on this matter and has played a constructive role throughout the discussion at the Security Council.”
Earlier on Friday, South Korea warned that the North would “perish from earth” if it went ahead with its threats to attack the South.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also toured two islands near the disputed maritime border with the South on Thursday, saying the country was “fully ready to fight a Korean style all-out war.”
The original source of this article can be found on the PressTV website, here.
