China issues rare warning to N. Korea

BEIJING – China said Tuesday that a draft U.N. resolution to penalize North Korea for test-launching missiles would aggravate tensions and set back efforts to resume talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

But it also issued a rare public warning to North Korea to watch what it does next.

“The Chinese side thinks the concerned draft is an overreaction. If approved, it will … increase tension,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news conference. “It will harm peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asian region and hurt efforts to resume six-party talks, as well as lead to the U.N. Security Council splitting,” she said.

China, which shares a border with North Korea, has made no secret of its preference for negotiations over the economic sanctions resolution introduced by Japan.

But on Tuesday, it also cautioned North Korea against acting rashly.

“We are against any actions that will aggravate the situation,” President Hu Jintao told Yang Hyong Sop, visiting vice president of North Korea’s parliament, the official New China News Agency reported. “We hope that relevant parties will do more things conducive to the peace and stability of the peninsula.”