China has called for a resumption of talks on the Korean Peninsula and urged North Korea not to provoke the international community after the UN Security Council voted to impose its toughest sanctions yet on Pyongyang.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday said that while the sanctions were "necessary" after Pyongyang's missile tests in July, only negotiations would resolve the conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
"Our purpose is to bring all parties involved in the nuclear issue back to the negotiating table ... to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Wang said on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Manila.
"It is not easy, but it is a direction that we need to work together towards," he said. "Only dialogue and negotiations are the correct way to address the Korean Peninsula issue."
In a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, Wang said he told his counterpart "not to violate the UN decision or provoke the international community's goodwill by conducting missile launches or nuclear tests.
Ri re-affirmed Pyongyang's position on the matter during the meeting, Wang said.
"I don't think that matters much," he added. "What really matters is that the foreign minister of North Korea is here so he has the chance to listen to the views of various parties regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula."
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