(China): on Thursday blamed the "negative impact" of US military drills for tensions on the Korean peninsula, after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile that prompted Japan to briefly issue a seek shelter warning.

In response to a question about the launch, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said: "The current round of tension on the peninsula has its causes. The negative impact of the US military drills and deployment of strategic weapons around the peninsula is obvious to all."