China's foreign minister said Sunday that his country is troubled by North Korea's plan to launch a long-range rocket and has urged more diplomacy to handle the situation, a measured response to a provocation that has unsettled the region. Following trilateral talks in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea both said a launch by North Korea would violate UN Security Council resolutions — indicating their belief that the North should face sanctions if it goes through with the plan. But China, the North's closest ally, instead urged more dialogue and communication. "The Chinese side is troubled by the developments, and strongly encourages everyone involved on all sides, at high and low levels, to remain calm and reasonable," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said. "These issues need to be worked out in a diplomatic and peaceful manner." Japan's Kyodo News service reported that Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said the three sides failed to reach a consensus on the launch, an apparent reference to China's softer approach. "We were able to increase our common views," Kyodo quoted Gemba as saying. "But frankly speaking, I would not say the three countries shared the same view." — AP
