China hopes that relevant parties of Korean nuclear issue stay calm and restraint, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said here Sunday.

When asked to comment on the reports that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had fired several ballistic missiles on Saturday, Qin said the Chinese side has noticed such a matter, and hopes that related parties should stay calm and restraint and work together to maintain regional peace and stability.

According to Joint Forces of the Republic of Korea, the DPRK fired seven missiles on Saturday, starting with two scud-type missiles between 08:00 and 08:30 a.m. (23:00-23:30 GMT Friday), after which shot four more at around 10:45 a.m. (01:45 GMT), noon (03:00 GMT), 02:50 p.m. (05:50 GMT), and 04:10 p.m. (07:10 GMT). The last one was fired at around 05:40 p.m. (08:40 GMT).

All the seven missiles were fired off the eastern coast from a base near Wonsan, Gangwon Province, and are estimated to have a range of 400- 500 km, it said.

Source: Xinhua