Beijing still considers the “freeze-for-freeze” plan to be the most sensible “first step” towards resolving the issue of North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Thursday.

“We believe that the ‘dual suspension’ proposal is the most feasible, fair and sensible plan in the present situation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said during a news briefing, in comments carried by Reuters.

“The common perception is that using military force shouldn’t be the option to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue,” he said, in comments carried by South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, adding