All parties related to the Korean Peninsula issue should stay calm, exercise restraint and send more messages that help de-escalate tensions, said Liu Xiaoming, China's special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs.

In a phone call with his Republic of Korea counterpart Kim Gunn on Thursday, Liu said China supports the ROK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in improving relations with each other, according to a statement issued by China's Foreign Ministry.

Congratulating Kim on his appointment as the ROK's new special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Liu said China will continue to play a constructive role for the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue.

Kim briefed Liu on Seoul's stance on the issue, and said the new ROK administration is willing to keep the door of dialogue with the DPRK open and will continue to work to improve inter-Korean relations.

The ROK values China's important role in addressing the issue, and hopes to maintain communication and cooperation with China, Kim said.

Liu posted tweets about the phone call on Thursday, saying he was glad to talk with Kim.

The phone call came a day after the United Nations General Assembly held a debate on vetoes cast on a Security Council draft resolution, which was tabled by the United States and aimed at tightening sanctions against the DPRK.

Crux of deadlock

China's permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun, said during the debate that the situation in the Korean Peninsula has become tense, something that China does not want to see.

The crux of the current deadlock on the Korean Peninsula issue lies in the absence of US response to the DPRK's denuclearization efforts in 2018 following the "action for action" principle, as well as the US' failure to accommodate the legitimate concerns of the DPRK, said China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during a daily news conference on Tuesday.

"The US side should demonstrate sincerity and take real steps instead of shouting empty slogans for dialogue," Zhao said.

In an interview with a ROK television show on Thursday, Chinese Ambassador to the ROK Xing Haiming said the peninsula "has gone back to the kind of tension that it used to experience in 2017", after a period of easement from 2018 to 2021.

China has always been committed to denuclearization of the peninsula, maintaining peace and stability of the peninsula and solving issues through talks, Xing said, according to a statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Seoul.

China does not support either side of the peninsula to possess nuclear weapons, Xing said, calling for the ROK to work with China for the peninsula's denuclearization.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn

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