China expresses concern over N Korea missile 'near miss' with Chinese passenger plane

China has expressed over North Korean artillery launch that happened minutes before a Chinese commercial plane reportedly carrying 202 people flew in the same area.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the country will check and express concerns with the relevant parties.

According to the China Daily, the China Southern Airlines aircraft, which was carrying 202 passengers, was heading from Tokyo to Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Tuesday.

The country's Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said the plane was traveling at an altitude of 10 km, while the projectile's peak altitude was 20 km.

He said the flight passed through the area about five minutes after the projectile hit the water.

He added that the failure to protect the safety of civilians by issuing an advanced navigational warning according to international norms is a serious threat.

An unidentified army spokesman from the DPRK said in a statement that rocket drills conducted from Feb 21 until Tuesday were part of regular training, the report said.

He added neither regional security nor international navigation were in danger because the DPRK took 'scrupulous advance security measures for flight orbit and targets in the designated waters,' it added.