China highly concerned about stability on Korean Peninsula: FM spokesman

BEIJING -- China is highly concerned about keeping stability on the Korean Peninsula and firmly opposes any move that will stir up trouble on the peninsula, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Spokesman Hong Lei said that China is "highly concerned" about the start of joint military exercises between the United States and Republic of Korea (ROK) and the reaction from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The United States and ROK kicked off the annual exercises on Monday, bringing a record number of American troops and military assets into the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK has issued a warning of "all-out offensive" in response to the largest-ever joint ROK-US military exercises.

"The Korean Peninsula and China are linked by mountains and rivers and China is highly concerned about keeping stability on the peninsula," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.

"China firmly opposes any move that will stir up trouble in the Korean Peninsula," Hong said.

He urged "restraint instead of provocative moves."

Korean Peninsula tensions were discussed during a China-Russia meeting on Northeast Asian security in Moscow last week.

According to Hong, the two sides expressed grave concern over the push by the United States and ROK for deploying anti-ballistic missile systems in the ROK, saying the move would intensify tensions, harm the strategic balance in the region and directly undermine the security of China and Russia.

China and Russia are both firmly against such move, said Hong.