Beijing ? Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged North Korea today to refrain from launching a missile, saying such an act would aggravate regional tensions.

Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Wen said that China was concerned about recent events in North Korea.

“We are paying close attention to the information showing that there might be a possible missile-testing launch by North Korea, and we are following the developments of the situation very closely,” Wen said.

“We hope that the various parties will proceed from the greater interest of maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula and refrain from taking measures that will worsen the situation,” he said. Wen was the highest-level Chinese official to speak out in the two weeks since intelligence reports showed that North Korea had placed a long-range Taepodong-2 missile on a launch pad.

China is a critical ally of North Korea, providing food, fuel and other economic and financial assistance.