Zhang Jun, permanent representative of China to the United Nations (UN), said on Thursday that sanctions will not help solve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, but rather will cause an "escalation" with humanitarian consequences.

Zhang made the remarks after China vetoed a U.S.-led bid at the UN to toughen sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after its missile launches.

"Facts have proved that dialogue and negotiation is the only way to solve the problem," Zhang said.

He added that additional sanctions would also have a greater humanitarian impact, especially against the backdrop of emerging COVID-19 in the DPRK.

"Additional sanctions against the DPRK will only add to the misery of the DPRK people, and in this sense, neither right nor humane," he said.

Zhang has also accused the U.S. of failing to adhere to the results of previous dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

The U.S. "should not place one-sided emphasis on the implementation of sanctions alone. It should also work to promote a political solution," he said.

Noting that the situation on the peninsula is at a dangerous juncture, Zhang called on all parties to exercise calm and restraint, and called on the U.S. to take meaningful actions to respond to the legitimate and reasonable concerns of the DPRK.

(Cover: A news broadcast with file footage of a DPRK's missile test at a railway station in Seoul, ROK, May 25, 2022. /CFP)