Sanctions not fundamental to resolving N.Korea problem - China

BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - 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 U.N. 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.

(Reporting by Terril Yue Jones and Benjamin Kang Lim, Writing by John Ruwitch)