China´s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected such a decision, calling all actors for being carefully and urging for more efforts to move towards a political resolution.

The White House on Wednesday announced punitive measures in response to six missiles launched by Pyongyang since last September.

Both denuclearization and inter-Korean rapprochement were put on hold in the wake of the failed summit in Vietnam between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former President Donald Trump in February 2019.

mh/pll/mem/ymr