The Obama administration criticized North Korea Thursday for firing shells into waters near a South Korean warship.
It reiterated calls for Pyongyang to exercise restraint, saying its provocative act is only raising military tensions on the peninsula.
"We urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that aggravate tensions, and instead focus on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments," Jen Psaki, the State Department's spokeswoman said at a daily press briefing.
She was responding to reports that the North lobbed two shells into the Yellow Sea waters Thursday (Korea time), where the South Korean vessel was on patrol. It caused no damage but the South's ship fired several warning shots.
Residents of the Yeonpyeong Island, just south of the disputed western maritime border between the two Koreas, were asked to evacuate shortly after the exchange of fire, according to South Korean officials.
"We are closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula in coordination with our South Korean allies," Psaki said.
She pointed out the importance of China's role in dealing with the North Korean regime.
"Certainly, China has been an important partner in putting the necessary pressure on the North Koreans, and especially given their provocative threats and provocative actions," she said.
Earlier this week, the department's top point man on Asia also said Washington has made cooperation with Beijing on Pyongyang a key component of its relationship with the rising global power.
"Cooperation by China will be essential of any effort to strengthen the existing sanctions regime," Daniel Russel, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Tuesday at a congressional hearing on his bureau's budget priorities.
On the ongoing basis of interagency efforts, Russel said, the U.S. administration is "consulting and considering on a wide rage of additional measures" that it can take against Pyongyang.
He stressed the U.S. remains willing to improve ties with North Korea if it behaves in a constructive way.
"We have simply not seen from North Korea behavior that offers a pathway to a negotiated settlement," he said. (Yonhap)