BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China hopes that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) must keep calm and restraint on the nuclear test issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement here Wednesday.

    "We hope that the DPRK must keep calm and restraint on the nuclear test issue," Liu said.

    Liu's comment came after the DPRK Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it would conduct a nuclear test in the future.

    "We also hope that all relevant parties must address their concerns through dialogues and consultations instead of taking actions that may intensify the situation," Liu said.

    The Chinese side has always maintained a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula and northeast Asia through the six-party talks process.

    In Tuesday's statement, DPRK said "the field of scientific research of the DPRK will in the future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed."

    DPRK "will never use nuclear weapons first," the statement added.

    The international community responded quickly to DPRK's announcement.

    The United States' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that a nuclear test by DPRK would be a "very provocative" act.

    Earlier in the day, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that a nuclear test by the DPRK would pose an "unacceptable" threat to peace and stability in Asia and the world.

    "The Republic of Korean (ROK) government expresses very serious concern and regret over it," said ROK Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu-ho in the statement.

    "The ROK government clearly reaffirms the position that it would never be acceptable (to the South Korean government) for the North (DPRK) to possess nuclear weapons, and the government urges the North to immediately scrap the plan for a nuclear test," he said.

    The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday voiced his serious concern over the DPRK's stated intentions of carrying out a nuclear test in the future.

    "Such action, if undertaken, would further aggravate tensions in the region," he said, noting that "it would bring universal condemnation by the international community and will not help DPRK achieve the goals expressed in its statement, particularly with regard to strengthening its security." Enditem