Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi said on Saturday sanctions were not the "fundamental" way to resolve North Korea-related issues and all sides should exercise calm and restraint.

The United Nations this week imposed new sanctions on North Korea following its third nuclear test on Feb 12. China, the isolated regime's only major ally and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, supported the sanctions and said it wanted the measures fully implemented.

"We always believe that sanctions are not the end of Security Council actions, nor are sanctions the fundamental way to resolve the relevant issues," Yang told a news conference.