China Urges Restraint After N. Korea Fires Missile Over Japan

By Vince Morkri

     BEIJING (MNI) - China on Tuesday urged the countries involved in the Korea

Peninsula crisis "to restrain from provoking each other" and resolve their

differences through talks, after North Korea conducted its latest missile test

earlier in the day, this time over the Japanese island of Hokkaido. 

     "The issue is complex and sensitive, and the only way out is through

dialogue," China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press

briefing, adding that the "pressure" North Korea felt from ongoing military

exercises between the United States and South Korea "cannot fundamentally solve

the issue." 

     The test of an intermediate-range missile early Tuesday followed two test

launches in July of intercontinental ballistic missiles that North Korea said

were capable of hitting targets in the United States. Tuesday launch was only

the second to transverse Japanese airspace and the first since 1998. 

     In response to questions about whether China could do more on its own to

help resolve the crisis, as has been urged by U.S. President Donald Trump, Hua

said Beijing stood by its policy of implementing U.N. resolutions against North

Korea "in their entirety" and urging settlement of the issue through the

China-proposed suspension-for-suspension approach -- North Korea halting its

nuclear weapons and missile programs while the United States and South Korea

refrain from conducting military drills.  

     "The essence of the issue is a security issue, and the crux of the issue is

the U.S.-North Korea contradiction," she said, adding that China "has made

relentless efforts for the settlement of the issue."

     "China is calling on the promotion of peace talks while others are

conducting joint military exercises," she added.

     In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the missile launch "an

outrageous act that poses an unprecedented, grave and serious threat, and

significantly undermines the peace and security of the region." He said the

Japanese government would take "all possible measures" to ensure the country's

safety. 

     Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said at a press conference that Japan

had lodged a protest with North Korea "in the strongest terms" through its

embassy in Beijing, and that it was working with the United States and South

Korea in urging the U.N. Security Council to convene an emergency meeting on the

matter. 

     Kono said that the danger from North Korea "has grown significantly

stronger" and that it "highly valued" the stance of U.S. President Trump that

all options be put on the table regarding North Korea. 

     "Because the launch happened without even a warning and it could have truly

put lives at risk, the U.N. Security Council needs to show a firmer stance than

it has thus far," Kono said, adding that Japan would "make a firm response" to

the missile launch.

     South Korea announced after the North's missile launch that it had staged a

live-fire drill simulating an attack on Pyongyang and the North Korean

leadership. Presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan said at a press conference

that South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in, wanted "to showcase a strong

punishment capability against the North."

     The U.N. Security Council said it would hold an emergency meeting on the

matter in New York later Tuesday. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: vince.morkri@marketnews.com

--MNI BEIJING Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: john.carter@mni-news.com

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