China does not desire military escalation on Korean Peninsula

China does not wish to see an escalated military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Monday.

Maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, realizing denuclearization and avoiding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is not only in the interests of all parties involved, but is also an obligation that they should meet, Hong said at a regular news briefing.

Reiterating China's stance of solving issues concerning the peninsula through dialogue, Hong called for all parties to make greater efforts to ease the situation.

Hong's comment came after the Republic of Korea (ROK) said on Sunday that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. regarding the development of ballistic missiles.

Media reports said that the agreement will allow the ROK to develop ballistic missiles with a range of up to 800 km, more than double the previous limit. The payload limit remains unchanged at 500 kg. It also allows the ROK to operate drone aircraft carrying payloads of up to 2,500 kg.