Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Friday said the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should strive to create conditions for resuming meaningful dialogue.

Mao made the remarks in response to China's take on the ROK's sanctions on 15 individuals and 16 institutions tied to the DPRK missile program due to a ballistic missile the DPRK launched toward the eastern waters of the Korean Peninsula.

All parties should face up to the crux that caused the peninsula's long deadlock, and keep to the direction of political settlement to prevent escalating the tension, she added.

According to Reuters, ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the latest missile was launched at 1:49 a.m. on Friday (1449 Thursday GMT) from the Sunan area near DPRK's capital, Pyongyang, and flew about 700 kilometers to an altitude of 50 km at a speed of Mach six.

ROK's National Security Council (NSC) condemned the DPRK for escalating tensions, calling its moves a violation of a 2018 bilateral military pact that bans "hostile acts" in the border area.

DPRK's military issued a statement via the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) early on Friday saying that it took "strong military countermeasures," over ROK's artillery fire on Thursday.

The JCS said the aircraft incident occurred for about two hours from 8:30 p.m. on Thursday (1130 GMT), during which about 10 DPRK's planes flew as close as 12 km north of the sea border and 25 km north of the Military Demarcation Line.

It said the ROK air force "conducted an emergency sortie with its superior air force, including the F-35A" and a proportional response manoeuvre.

The General Staff of the DPRK's Korean People's Army (KPA) accused the ROK of taking "provocative action" with the artillery fire, which lasted about 10 hours.

"The KPA sends a stern warning to the ROK's military inciting military tension in the frontline area with reckless action," its spokesman said, according to KCNA.

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: General view of the new presidential office in Seoul, ROK, June, 16, 2022. /CFP)