China warns against use of force by either side on Korean peninsula

China warned against North Korea or the US and its allies trying to use military force to solve the stand-off between the two sides on the peninsula.

Speaking from Beijing, China's foreign policy chief, Wang Yi, said "military force cannot resolve the issue", Reuters reported

"Amid challenge there is opportunity. Amid tensions we will also find a kind of opportunity to return to talks," Wang said.

"Whoever provokes the situation, whoever continues to make trouble in this place, they will have to assume historical responsibility," he added.

His remarks came amid worries that Pyongyang was set to carry-out further tests of its ballistic missiles, with some observers expecting the US aircraft carrier group which had been deployed to the region might attempt an intercept from their missile destroyers.

North Korea's 'Day of the Sun' celebrations, the biggest national day for the regime, on Thursday, were seen by some as possibly providing a good excuse for the North to carry out such a test.

However, signals from Washington that the country's patience with the North was running out meant tensions were now running especially high.

In parallel, earlier on Thursday the Global Times, one of the Chinese Communist party's mouthpieces, ran an editorial saying: "as soon as North Korea complies with China's declared advice and suspends nuclear activities ... China will actively work to protect the security of a denuclearised North Korean nation and regime."

Both South Korean and Japanese officials said they expected the White House to consult them should it decide upon a strike.

"Whoever provokes the situation, whoever continues to make trouble in this place, they will have to assume historical responsibility," Wang added.

Reuters also reported that Chinese premier Xi Jinping and US president Donald Trump had spoken by phone on Wednesday, which the latter described via his Twitter account as a "very good" discussion of the menace posed by North Korea, but later added the US was prepared to go it alone, without China, in trying to solve the crisis if necessary.