Beijing and Pyongyang held their third meeting of a joint border commission on Tuesday, agreeing to build new bridges over the Tumen River.

The meeting was co-chaired by visiting Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and his counterpart Pak Myong-guk, from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The move is a humanitarian rescue effort, and also the obligation of China, as the DPRK's neighbor and a responsible country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a news conference on Wednesday.