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China urges South Korea to resume talks with North

China's President Xi Jinping attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang on November 11, 2017. (Photo by the APEC 2017 National Committee)

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged South Korea to resume dialogue with the North to find a solution to the ongoing tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Xi made the remarks in a Saturday meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang.

The meeting came as the US and South Korean warships have launched war games off the coast of the Korean Peninsula in a display of force aimed at North Korea.

The joint drills -- the first in the region for a decade -- are taking place in East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

US Air Force B-1B bombers and South Korean F-15K fighter jets fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea, on June 20, 2017. (Photo by South Korean Defense Ministry)

Tensions between the US and North Korea have dramatically increased following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Trump, whose country has thousands of nuclear weapons, has even threatened to “totally destroy” the country of 26 million people if necessary.

The North Korean leadership has threatened to attack the US with nukes if it continues its aggressive policy against the country.

The North Korean leader ordered the production of more rocket warheads and engines in August, shortly after the United States suggested that its threats of military action and sanctions were having an impact on Pyongyang’s behavior.

Pyongyang says it will not give up on its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward the country. Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.

The US Air Force is reportedly preparing to place its fleet of B-52 bombers rigged with nuclear weapons on 24-hour alert for the first time since 1991 amid escalating tensions with North Korea.

Some of Trump’s advisers have warned him that US military options are limited at best, saying Pyongyang could launch an artillery barrage on Seoul, which is only about 50 kilometers from the border.


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