Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu also again called for "urgent" talks among the six nations involved in a stalled North Korean denuclearisation forum -- a call that so far has been received coolly in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

Pyongyang held fire after Seoul's military drill on Yeonpyeong island on Monday. The North shelled the island last month, killing four people including two civilians, and had threatened a response to any South Korean exercise.

"The situation remains complicated and sensitive," Jiang told reporters.

"We call on all relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and adopt a responsible attitude to prevent the reoccurrence of such tragic incidents," she said.

"It is in the common interests of all parties to safeguard the peace and stability of the peninsula."

The North's military said Monday it "did not feel any need to retaliate against every despicable military provocation", easing fears of war between the two Koreas.

Beijing, North Korea's main ally, had earlier warned that any bloodshed on the Korean peninsula would be a "national tragedy" and upset regional stability.

China blocked efforts at the UN Security Council to agree a statement on the Korea crisis and Russia warned that the international community was now left without "a game plan" to counter escalating tensions.

Jiang said Tuesday that an emergency consultation of envoys to the six-nation talks was "urgent and necessary", reiterating a call made by Beijing shortly after the November 23 artillery attack on Yeonpyeong.

So far, the United States, Japan and South Korea have rejected that call, instead staging three-way talks in Washington earlier this month.

US troubleshooter Bill Richardson on Tuesday ended a mission to North Korea, during which he said officials pledged to allow UN nuclear inspectors back into the country.

When asked for a response to the apparent concessions Richardson won from Pyongyang, Jiang recalled that North Korea had previously committed in 2005 to allowing International Atomic Energy Agency personnel access to its facilities.

"We hope the relevant issue can be solved within the six-party talks," the spokeswoman said.

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