Japan talking only about sanctions on North Korea rather than dialogue will be seen as going against United Nations resolutions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Japanese counterpart.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of his country's own Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017.

Tensions have continued to rise since North Korea carried out its sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, prompting a new round of U.N. sanctions.

Wang told Japan Foreign Minister Taro Kono on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting in New York that the situation on the Korean Peninsula was getting increasingly serious and all sides needed to remain calm.

Resuming peace talks was just as much a part of the UN resolutions as enforcing sanctions, Wang said, according to a statement issued by China's Foreign Ministry late on Friday.

"If the Japanese side only talks about sanctions and does not bring up talks, or even goes against talks, it will be seen as contravening Security Council resolutions," the ministry cited Wang as saying.

China hoped that Japan talked and acted cautiously and played a constructive role on the nuclear issue, he said.