Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a statement issued by the UN Security Council on Friday condemning the launch as a "grave violation" of Pyongyang's international obligations under Security Council resolutions, Xinhua news agency reported.
"We hope all parties can refrain from doing things that may irritate others or escalate the tensions," she said, adding that the signal sent by the UNSC "needs to be comprehensive and balanced".
The Security Council has adopted five resolutions -- resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013) and 2270 (2016) -- to curb North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes in which the latest one, adopted in March, imposes the most severe sanctions yet on the country, including an export ban and asset freeze.
Stressing that China has been consistent on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue, Hua said China would continue to support the de-nuclearisation of the peninsula, protect peace and stability and support the resolution of differences via negotiation and dialogue.
North Korea on August 24 test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off its east coast into the sea after Seoul and Washington launched their annual military drills on August 22.
