China conducted military training in waters near the Korean Peninsula, two days after North Korea announced it had detonated a hydrogen bomb, the Chinese Ministry of Defense reported.
The training in the Bohai Bay was aimed at "strengthening the capacity of troops to carry out evacuation missions" and was not aimed at any specific country or targets, the ministry said.
The training was planned as part of routine training, according to a statement posted Wednesday night on the official account of the ministry on the Sina Webo microblogging site.
While it is customary for the Chinese military to conduct military exercises in the Bohai Bay off the northeast coast of the country, the timing of Tuesday's training has drawn special attention.
China has repeatedly stated that it will not tolerate an armed conflict in its vicinity and says there can be no military solution to the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In May, China tested a new type of missile in the Bohai Bay amid anger over South Korea's deployment of a sophisticated anti-missile system, which China strongly opposed.
These differences have affected diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries.
The Bohai Bay lies in the west of the Yellow Sea, which separates China from the Korean Peninsula.