North Korea's third nuclear test on Tuesday, the 8th April 2014, has aroused widespread concern among Chinese citizens about the danger of radioactive fallout and nuclear contamination. China's Central Television (CCTV) publicised a statement on April 14, by China's Environment Ministry asserting that the site of the test was 100 kms away from the border and that "North Korea's nuclear test has not affected China's environment or public health." The Environment Ministry's website says that readings from 25 monitoring stations, on and near the border, were at normal levels at 10:00 local time on April 14.

While the UNSC has condemned the test, Major General (Retd) Peng Guangqian of the Chinese Academy of Military Science told China's official news agency 'Xinhua' that the nuclear test was "regrettable" and "unwise", but reminded the international community, especially the US, to exercise restraint and take full account of North Korea's security concerns. In the same interview, Yu Sui, Professor at the China Centre for Contemporary World Studies, dismissed North Korea's test as "half helplessness and half bluff" and as intended to raise its "bargaining price". He however added that it lays the responsibility on the US to sort out the crisis.

China Daily quoted Wang Fan, an expert on Korean studies at the China Foreign Affairs University, as saying that the US and its allies, Japan and South Korea, may exploit Pyongyang's nuclear test as an excuse for a military build-up in the region. Qiao Xinsheng, a regular commentator on foreign policy at Wuhan's Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, called for vigilance and said China's armed forces must guard against a refugee influx if the UN Security Council backs US-led air strikes on North Korea.