China warns tensions on Korean Peninsula at ‘tipping point’ after Pyongyang missile launch
RT.com
29 Aug, 2017
China has warned that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has reached “tipping point,” just hours after Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile. Meanwhile, North Korea has accused the US of driving the region towards an “extreme level of explosion.”
Speaking at a regular news briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the situation is “now at a tipping point approaching a crisis. At the same time there is an opportunity to reopen peace talks.
“We hope relevant parties can consider how we can deescalate the situation on the peninsula and realize peace and stability on the peninsula,” she added, as quoted by AFP.
Hua went on to mention joint drills staged by the US and South Korea, the most recent of which began last week, saying the two sides “held one round after another of joint military exercises and they exerted military pressure on the DPRK (North Korea).
“After so many rounds and vicious cycles, do they feel they are nearer to peaceful settlement of the issue?
“The facts have proven that pressure and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve the issue,” Hua said, referring to UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.
The remarks came after North Korea launched a missile which, according to the Japanese and South Korean governments, passed through Japan’s northern airspace.
Seoul responded quickly following the launch, conducting bombing drills to demonstrate its “overwhelming” military force to the North. The show of force involved four F-15K fighter jets dropping Mk84 multipurpose bombs on a shooting range near the inter-Korean border in Taebaek, the presidential press secretary told reporters, according to Yonhap.
Tokyo also staged a pre-planned Patriot surface-to-air missile battery training exercise following the launch.
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