Trump told reporters at the White House: “President Xi would like to do something. We’ll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what’s happening in North Korea.”
“I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100 percent… We had a very, very frank and very strong phone call.”
The president made his comments after speaking to President Xi by phone at the White House on Wednesday.
China made it clear that it is focused on solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through talks and peaceful means.
The tactic appeared to push the U.S. President to soften his tone after the telephone call on Wednesday.
Kim Jong-un was spotted in a H-bomb factory with his generals last week following North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.
The North’s official KCNA news agency said it was a H-bomb with an “explosive power that can be adjusted from tens to hundreds of kilotons depending on the target”.
Both the US and its allies are hinting that stronger sanctions may be needed against North Korea to curb its impulses.
Beijing has said reining in North Korea is not chiefly its responsibility, and has expressed doubts that U.N. economic sanctions, which it has backed, will resolve the situation.
Sanctions so far appear to have done little to stop North Korea from boosting its nuclear and missile capacity as it faces off with Mr Trump, who has vowed to stop Pyongyang from being able to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon.
It is unclear if China will back further sanctions. Beijing fears that completely cutting off North Korea could lead to its collapse, unleashing a wave of refugees into China’s northeast.
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