All relevant parties should remain calm and avoid actions that intensify tensions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile that flew over northern Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean earlier in the day

The opposition camp, however, has criticized Abe's move to call a snap election, with some accusing him of merely trying to escape from the influence-peddling scandals he is currently implicated in and engineering his stay in power

Mary's Square Annex in the city on the US West Coast, Lee witnessed the unveiling of a memorial called the "Comfort Women" Column of Strength on Friday

"He wanted to go to the inland provinces, and he had some knowledge of Anhui, so he chose Hefei as his destination," Cho said

"He said the reasons to choose Congo for the visit are that Congo boasts a sound investment environment, the infrastructure construction shows a growing momentum and the Chinese enterprises are willing to be involved in the industrialization process of the country