China says US wants diplomatic solution to N. Korea standoff

FILE - In this Thursday, April 13, 2017 file photo, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a joint press conference with the Palestinian Foreign Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. Wang made a new appeal for calm on the Korean peninsula Tuesday, April 18, 2017, and said he believes the United States would prefer a diplomatic rather than military resolution to the standoff. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) (The Associated Press)

BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has made a new appeal for calm on the Korean Peninsula and says he believes the United States would prefer a diplomatic resolution to the standoff.

Wang told reporters Tuesday that although U.S. officials have made clear that a military strike remains on the table, he believes that Washington would still prefer to de-escalate tensions through multi-sided talks.

Wang's comments came amid a mounting war of words between Washington and Pyongyang. After Vice President Mike Pence visited the demilitarized zone in South Korea on Monday and warned that "all options are on the table," a senior North Korean official responded by accusing the U.S. of bringing the countries to the brink of thermonuclear war.