Ambassador to China: South Korea will not fire first

South Korea will not resort to forces first amid the escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula, the country’s ambassador to China said .“The Republic of Korea is not going to take any provocative military behavior now, and will not do so in the future”, Ambassador Lee Kyu-hyung told Xinhuanet in an exclusive interview Wednesday.The remarks came as tensions continue between South Korea and its northern neighbor, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told lawmakers that the DPRK would highly likely test launch mid-range missiles "at any time from now on."Its Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said on April 4 that Pyongyang moved intermediate-range missiles, estimated to be Musudan, to its east coast.The missiles are feared to be fired off around April 15 when Pyongyang celebrates the birthday of Kim Il-sung, the DPRK's founder and the late grandfather of the current leader Kim Jung-un.South Korean Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the country's missile defense system may intercept missiles if they are to strike the South Korean territory.On the same day, South Korea's unification minister in charge of dialogue and cooperation with Pyongyang called on the DPRK to come to the dialogue table to resolve the political deadlock.Ambassador Lee Kyu-hyung also expressed South Korea’s willingness to get back to dialogue in the Xinhuanet interview, saying that the six-party talks are a necessary mechanism and have contributed to the peace and stability on the peninsula.In the interview, he also thanked China for its great efforts as the host country in the talks.