China urges N Korea not to escalate tensions

"We have noticed the statement by the DPRK (North Korea)," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said when asked about the comments released earlier by the regime's official news agency.

"The important thing right now is that all parties concerned should refrain from taking any action that may further escalate the tensions."

Liu called the UN Security Council's resolution on Saturday an "important message" to North Korea in response to its atomic test and urged Pyongyang to "seriously treat and respond" to the appeal.

"We hope the DPRK will adopt a responsible attitude and fulfil its commitment on realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," Liu said.

He repeated China's call for North Korea to return to stalled six-nation talks, established in 2003 in an effort to curtail North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

China hosts the talks, which also involve the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia.

North Korea has refused to return to the six-nation forum until the United States lifts separate sanctions imposed last year for counterfeiting and money laundering.