The White House said Thursday the U.S. would work closely with China to determine an appropriate response to the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which will include additional economic sanctions.
"And the administration has also been in touch with Chinese officials," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a news briefing, adding that U.S. President Barack Obama's National Security Advisor Susan Rice had already talked with Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai on the DPRK test.
The spokesman said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi also discussed the issue.
"Obviously, the nation of China wields more influence over the North Korean regime than probably any other country in the world, and we certainly want to work closely with them to determine an appropriate response," Earnest said.
The DPRK announced Wednesday that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. China has said it "firmly opposes" the test, while urging Pyongyang "to honor its commitment to denuclearization and to cease any action that may deteriorate the situation."
Kerry, appearing at a news briefing at the State Department Thursday, said he talked Thursday over the phone with Wang "at some length" about the DPRK nuclear test, and discussed "various options in ways in which we should proceed forward."
"We agree that there cannot be business as usual, and we agreed that we will work very closely together to determine the steps that we can take in order to address our increasing concerns about that nuclear test," Kerry said.
For his part, Wang underscored China's firm stand on promoting denuclearization and safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula, adding that China is willing to communicate with all parties involved, including the United States.
Earlier Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will continue to take part in the Council discussions "in order to promote the denuclearization and non-proliferation of the Korean Peninsula and safeguard the stability in Northeast Asia."
Earnest said U.S. leaders and senior officials, including President Obama, have been in touch with their counterparts in the region to discuss the issue and to discuss the appropriate international response to the DPRK move.
At the emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council convened Wednesday to discuss the DPRK test, the participating parties discussed options for a response, which will certainly include additional economic sanctions, Earnest said.
The spokesman said new sanctions, which will make the DPRK more isolated than ever before, are intended to reinforce the message to the DPRK that the only path to end its isolation is ceasing provocative activities, including further missiles and nuclear tests.
The Wednesday test, if confirmed, is the fourth nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. The previous tests, which were carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013, led to draconian economic sanctions imposed on the DPRK by the UN Security Council.
