A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry on Monday would not say whether China would maintain neutrality in case of armed conflict between North Korea and the United States, answering a question from South Korea’s Yonhap news agency at a regular press briefing.

“China’s neutrality is a hypothetical question, so I cannot, and will not answer,” Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said, while also urging all parties to exercise restraint.

“The current Korean peninsula issue has reached a point of criticality,” Hua said, urging each country involved to “seriously consider” Chinese and Russia proposals for a “dual freeze” of both