Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo reportedly avoided all mention of North Korea’s artillery attack on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island during his meeting with President Lee Myung-bak late last month.

A senior government official told reporters that Dai instead made repeated calls for tensions to be eased on the Korean Peninsula, saying that escalating tensions could result in massive losses.

Dai also reportedly said that there is no evidence that North Korea was behind the sinking of South Korea’s “Cheonan” naval vessel in March, which a Seoul-led international investigation found that the North was responsible for.

On the North’s firing of artillery shells onto Yeonpyeong Island, Dai responded in a way that suggested both Koreas were responsible.