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REPEAT:China Urges Restraint After NK Fires Missile Over Japan

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 09:05 GMT Aug 29/05:05 EST Aug 29
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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