US, North Korea must hold talks: China

China’s foreign ministry on Monday urged the United States and North Korea to sit down with each other face-to-face and resolve their problems, as tension continues to climb on the Korean peninsula after North Korea's latest rocket test.

“The focus of the nuclear issue on the peninsula is between the United States and North Korea,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. “We urge the United States and North Korea to sit down and have communications and negotiations, to explore ways to resolve each other’s reasonable concerns and finally reach the goal we all want reached.”

While China was angered by the launch, it has also expressed concern at plans by Washington and Seoul to deploy an advanced US missile defense system, saying it would impact upon China’s own security.

The possible US deployment of a missile defence system on the Korean peninsula in response to Pyongyang’s ballistic missile programme would threaten China’s strategic interests, Beijing said on Monday.

Meanwhile, a UN expert on human rights in North Korea has asked the United Nations to officially notify North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that he may be investigated for crimes against humanity.

A landmark 2014 report on North Korean human rights, co-authored by Marzuki Darusman, concluded that North Korean security chiefs and possibly Mr Kim himself should face justice for overseeing a system of Nazi-style atrocities.

Pyongyang has consistently brushed off the allegations and rejected any responsibility for human rights violations.

Meanwhile, a top Seoul official admitted there was no “clear evidence” that wages paid to North Korean workers in a joint industrial zone were used to fund Pyongyang’s nuc-lear and missile development, a report said on Monday.

Unification minister Hong Yong-Pyo had claimed Sunday about 70 per cent of wages paid to North Korean workers were syphoned off to the North’s ruling Workers’ Party. The comments sparked controversy over whether Seoul had been helping fund the North’s widely-condemned weapons programmes.

However Mr Hong, pressed by Seoul legislators to present clear evidence to back up his claim, said Monday he was simply “expressing concern” over such a possibility, according to Yonhap news agency.

“If there is clear proof for the North’s misappropriation, it would constitute a breach of relevant UN resolutions,” Yonhap quoted Mr Hong as saying during a meeting with legislators. “There are concerns about the North’s misuse of the money, but I’ve not said that there is clear evidence,” he said before apologising for “creating so much misunderstanding,” according to Yonhap.