BEIJING, April 13. /TASS/. China is calling on the US to take concrete steps to prevent an escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing on Thursday.

"The spiral of tensions on the Korean Peninsula has its reasons. The US has recently launched large-scale military exercises around the peninsula, deploying its strategic weapons there. We hope that all sides will maintain restraint and refrain from pressures and confrontation. In particular, the United States should take concrete steps to respond to the DPRK's legitimate concerns and create conditions for easing tensions and resuming the dialogue," Wang said.

Earlier, the Japanese government urged the residents of the northern Hokkaido prefecture to rush to hide in buildings, underground subway stations and other shelters due to what it said was a threat of the fall of a missile launched by North Korea. The warning has now been cancelled and the alert in the Hokkaido area lifted.

The Japanese authorities also said that a North Korean missile fell outside Japan’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, causing no damage. Japan's Defense Ministry said that the missile launched by Pyongyang was intercontinental. The DPRK's missile launch was a 12th this year.