Why was China’s response to North Korea’s latest missile launches so muted?

China’s muted response to North Korea’s latest missile launch, which came soon after top diplomat Wang Yi’s visit to Seoul, underscores how Beijing is prioritising Pyongyang’s stability over near‑term denuclearisation, according to analysts.

North Korea started launching more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles just hours after Wang concluded his two-day visit on Thursday, the foreign minister’s first official trip to South Korea in nearly five years.

South Korea and Japan condemned the launch as a provocation.

Beijing declined to criticise the barrage fired into the sea east of the peninsula, with China’s foreign ministry saying the following day that it had “noted the reports” and did not have any “new comment”.

The launch highlighted the gap between Beijing’s diplomatic engagement with both Koreas and its ability, or willingness, to restrain North Korea, said Lee Seong‑hyon, a senior fellow at George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations.

During his meetings in Seoul, Wang urged South Korea to pursue “genuine strategic autonomy”, avoid taking sides between China and the United States and move towards “peaceful coexistence” with its northern neighbour.