China asks US to ease sanctions on North Korea

"If the United States is sincerely concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people, then it should stop imposing sanctions and pressuring the DPRK," said a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian. 

"It should give due importance to the denuclearization measures taken by Pyongyang, respond to the legitimate and fair concerns of the DPRK, and take measures to ease sanctions on North Korea," Zhao added.

Beijing and Moscow in October had proposed a draft resolution aimed at lifting some sanctions on North Korea given that Pyongyang has taken steps toward denuclearization and further negotiations, reported Sputnik. 

The resolution expanded on a similar document proposed by the two countries in 2019 but was never put up for a vote due to opposition from Western members of the Security Council. 

It comes as North Korea on January 13 launched a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile with a range of 4,500 kilometres (2,796 miles), making it the longest-range missile tested by Pyongyang since 2017. The launch was North Korea's seventh this year.