China says North Korea tensions have reached ‘tipping point’
Beijing says there is an opportunity to reopen peace talks after Pyongyang fires missile over Japan
China warned that tensions on the Korean peninsula have reached a “tipping point” after North Korea on Tuesday fired a ballistic missile over Japan, but said the United States and South Korea are partly to blame.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged all sides to avoid provocations and repeated Beijing’s call for the North to suspend missile tests in return for a halt to US-South Korean military exercises.
The situation is “now at a tipping point approaching a crisis. At the same time there is an opportunity to reopen peace talks”, Hua told a regular news briefing.
“We hope relevant parties can consider how we can de-escalate the situation on the peninsula and realise peace and stability on the peninsula,” she added.
Sirens blared out early on Tuesday and text messages were fired off across the north of Japan, warning people in the missile’s flight path to take cover.