China has summoned South Korean Ambassador to Beijing Yu Woo-ik twice since Friday to urge Seoul to refrain from conducting shooting drills in waters near the Yellow Sea border with North Korea.

The Chinese foreign ministry also released two statements over the weekend opposing Seoul's plans to hold the live-fire drills.

On Friday, China summoned both the South and North Korean ambassadors and urged calmness and restraint amid rising inter-Korean tensions. Yu was summoned again on Saturday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, meanwhile, has telephoned his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and agreed to closely cooperate to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.