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China has called on all parties in the Korean standoff to stay calm and "stop irritating each other" a day after North Korea said the United States was pushing the region to the brink of nuclear war.
Key points:
- China is urging all parties to 'lower temperatures and resume talks'
- US bombers conducted training drills with South Korea and Japan
- North Korea said the US has put the region on the brink of nuclear war
The United States has urged China, reclusive North Korea's lone major ally, to do more to rein in its neighbour's nuclear and missile programmes which have prompted an assertive response from the Trump administration, warning that the "era of strategic patience" is over.
The United States has sent a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to Korean waters and a pair of strategic US bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in another show of strength this week.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, asked about the bomber flights, the drills and North Korea's response, stressed that the situation was "highly complex" and sensitive.
"The urgent task is to lower temperatures and resume talks," he said.
"We again urge all relevant parties to remain calm and exercise restraint, stop irritating each other, work hard to create an atmosphere for contact and dialogue between all sides, and seek a return to the correct path of dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible," Mr Geng told reporters.
The flight of the two bombers came as US President Donald Trump raised eyebrows when he said he would be "honoured" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the right circumstances, and as his CIA director landed in South Korea for talks.
North Korea said the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when Mr Trump and "other US warmongers are crying out for making a pre-emptive nuclear strike" on the North.
"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," the North's official KCNA news agency said.
Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high for weeks, driven by concern that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
Mr Trump warned in an interview on Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.
US urges region to reconsider North Korea ties
Mr Trump has stepped up outreach to allies in Asia to secure their cooperation to pressure North Korea, and over the weekend he spoke with the leaders of Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines in separate phone calls.
The US ambassador to Indonesia, Joseph R Donovan, told reporters Indonesia was among several countries that the United States was urging take a "fresh look" at their North Korea ties.
He declined to go into details of what action the United States wanted, but said: "We are hoping that countries will look at what they can be doing to bring North Korea around to meaningful steps to end its nuclear and missile programmes."
Mr Trump's calls to the Asian leaders came after North Korea test-launched a missile that appeared to have failed within minutes, its fourth successive failed launch since March.
It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of last year.
Mr Trump drew criticism in Washington on Monday when he said he would be "honoured" to meet North Korea's young leader.
"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News.
He did not say what conditions would be needed for such a meeting to occur or when it could happen.
Reuters
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, china, united-states, korea-democratic-people-s-republic-of, korea-republic-of