A top Chinese military official says China will not intercept a rocket North Korea plans to launch later this week.

China’s state-run English newspaper, the China Daily, quoted Chinese Air Force General Liu Chengjun, as saying at a defense seminar in Beijing on Monday that China subscribes to the idea of peace.

Liu, the director of Beijing-based Academy of Military Science, asked all parties concerned to avoid radical actions or remarks, which could make the North Korean missile problem even more problematic.

Liu added that China is keeping a close eye on the Korean Peninsula with hopes of easing tensions and resolving the situation.