U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim has urged China to join the United States in publicly condemning the North's missile launches.

The U.S. State Department said in a press release on Sunday that Kim made the appeal on Thursday during his phone conversation with Chinese special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs Liu Xiaoming.

The department said Kim called Liu to discuss the North's ballistic missile launches on February 27 and March 5, which Washington has concluded to be tests of a new intercontinental ballistic missile system.

In the call, Kim strongly condemned the launches, which the press release referred to as a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and a serious threat to international peace and security.

The department said the U.S. envoy also expressed concern that these launches demonstrate the North's determination to advance its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs and continue on an increasingly escalatory path.

Kim reportedly emphasized that China and the U.S. share an interest in ensuring regional stability, calling upon Beijing to join Washington in publicly condemning the North's missile launches.

He also encouraged China to urge North Korea to cease its destabilizing activity and return to dialogue.