China has stepped in to urge all parties to remain calm and cease 'provocative actions' to prevent the escalation of tension in the Korean Peninsula after North Korea's fired short-range missiles on Thursday directed at South Korea.

According to Xinhua, Pyongyang launched two short-range missiles and announced it will 'liquidate' all South Korean assets and properties located in North Korea.

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North Korea also said that it is severing economic ties with Seoul. This includes rescinding all inter-Korean economic cooperation projects. Pyongyang's move is apparently in response to South Korea's unilateral enforcement of sanctions against the isolated state embodied in a UN resolution which was passed last month.

                                                       Responding fiercely

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said North Korea was 'responding fiercely' to the recent large-scale joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, which Pyongyang perceives as an 'undeniable threat' to its sovereignty and security.

"China is deeply concerned about what is happening in the Korean Peninsula," Lei said at a press conference.

An expert in Korean studies has said that Pyongyang's decision to  liquidate South Korean assets is not new and the capital involved is 'limited.'

                                                      Symbolic move

"The liquidation is actually a symbolic move and a clear sign of protest," Zhang Liangui said.

Zhang said it is highly unlikely that the tension in the Korean Peninsula will subside in a short time. He noted that as long as the US and its allies continue to make moves that will provoke North Korea, then the isolated state will naturally react militarily.

Political analysts have pointed out that the US and Seoul, while conducting joint war games in the peninsula, refuse to start negotiations with Pyongyang unless it gives up its development of its nuclear programme.

                                                       Unsafe

The two allies, observers said, are pressuring North Korea both politically and militarily.

"As North Korea  has no assurance that its security concerns will be addressed, it feels unsafe to engage in negotiations now about its nuclear programs," the analysts emphasized.

TagsNorth Korea, South Korea, Korean peninsula, South Korean assets, inter-Korean economic cooperation, Joint US-ROK military exercises, short-range missiles, china