China on NKorea, border talk and Canada-Taiwan

(11 Jan 2022) China called on countries not to "overreact" to North Korea's launch of what appeared to be a ballistic missile into its eastern sea on Tuesday. "The nature of the projectile has yet to be assessed and determined, no parties should come to a hasty conclusion or overreact," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily briefing in Beijing. This is the second launch in a week, following leader Kim Jong Un's calls to expand its nuclear weapons programme in defiance of international opposition. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired what likely was a ballistic missile from the area of its northern Jagang province. It said the weapon flew 700 kilometers (434 miles) at a maximum speed of around Mach 10 before landing in waters off its eastern coast, demonstrating a more advanced capability than North Korea's launch last week. The North's state media described the earlier launch as a successful test of a hypersonic missile, a type of weaponry it claimed to have first tested in September. The United Nations Security Council held closed-door consultations on Monday on last week's launch, but took no action. Ahead of the talks, the U.S. and five allies issued a statement urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Underscoring the "sensitive" moment of the current peninsular situation, Wang said the UN should play a "positive and constructive role" in maintaining peace in the region. Parties concerned should "focus on promoting the political settlement  and do something conducive to stabilize the situation, build mutual trust and restart dialogue," he added. Wang also confirmed that another round of commander-level military talks between China and India will be held on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point on Wednesday. "We hope that India will move in the same direction as China and strive to switch from emergency response to normalized management and control as soon as possible when it comes to border issues," Wang said. India and China have held several rounds of talks by military, diplomatic and political officials to end a long-running standoff along their disputed border in the remote Ladakh region. Asked about reports that Canada and Taiwan are set to have talks on a foreign investment deal, Wang reiterated China's opposition to "agreements of an official nature between Taiwan and countries it has diplomatic ties with." "The Canadian government should abide by the one-China principle and properly handle the relevant issue with prudence," Wang said. During a call on Sunday, the two trade ministers agreed to start "exploratory discussions" on a possible foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement (FIPA). Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...