US President Donald Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the phone on Wednesday. The two leaders discussed the DPRK’s launch of a ballistic missile, among other regional issues, the White House said in a statement.

Trump "made clear that the United States will continue to strengthen its ability to deter and defend itself and its allies with the full range of its military capabilities," the statement said.

Both the US and Japan, according to the statement, believe China should play a more important role in resolving the DPRK issue.

‍In response, China said as the neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, China is more concerned with the development of the situation on the peninsula than any other countries, and that it worries about the aggravated tension on the peninsula. China hopes to achieve peace and stability on the peninsula, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during a daily press briefing on Thursday.

Hua pointed out China has made great efforts to resolve the issues on the peninsula and has played a significant role for a long time.

An ultimate settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue requires “addressing both the symptoms and root causes,” and the reasonable concerns of all parties should be addressed in a comprehensive and balanced approach, Hua stated.

US President Donald Trump's top security adviser agreed in a telephone call to proceed with the deployment of an ad‍vanced US missile defense system, known as THAAD, as planned, South Korea's presidential office said on Thursday.

US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster spoke to his South Korean counterpart on Thursday morning to discuss DPRK's latest missile launch and the summit between the US and Chinese leaders, according to South Korean officials.

The DPRK test-fired a missile into its eastern waters on Wednesday, the day before the China-US summit is to begin.

(Source: Reuters)