(Reuters) – China deplored tension on the Korean peninsula on Sunday and in an apparent reference to North Korea, said no country should be allowed to plunge the region into chaos after the United States postponed a missile test to ease talk of war.
The North, led by 30-year-old Kim Jong-un, has been issuing threats of war against the United States and U.S.-backed South Korea since the United Nations imposed sanctions after its third nuclear weapon test in February.
Its anger has been compounded by weeks of joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States.
The North told diplomats late last week to consider leaving Pyongyang because of the tension, but embassies appeared to view the appeal as more rhetoric and staff have stayed put.
South Korea said it was anticipating any manner of action that the North’s unpredictable leaders might make, including a possible missile launch, by Wednesday, after when the North said it could not guarantee diplomats’ safety.
China, North Korea’s sole financial and diplomatic backers, has shown growing irritation with North Korea’s warnings of nuclear war.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, addressing a forum on the southern island of Hainan, did not name North Korea but said no country “should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain”.