Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua has reportedly said that it is unreasonable for South Korea, the U.S. and Japan to depend on China to exercise its influence over North Korea in order to ease regional tensions.

Cheng on Thursday told Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily that if the three countries have demands of the North, they should hold direct dialogue with Pyongyang instead of relying on China to do so.

The paper said that the envoy's remarks are seen as a call for the three nations to accept China’s proposal for a resumption of the stalled six-party nuclear talks.