China responds for first time to North, South Korea incident

China on Wednesday urged North and South Korea to show "calm and restraint" and engage in talks as quickly as possible to avoid an escalation of tensions after a deadly shelling incident that killed four South Koreans.

The statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was Beijing's first detailed official response to the incident on Tuesday when North Korea shelled a South Korean island. Unlike other governments in the region, China did not single out North Korea for condemnation. (Reuters)