The United States has repeated its calls for China to exert its influence on North Korea to persuade the regime not to conduct a nuclear test or other acts of hostility.

John Kirby, White House National Security Council(NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, made the call on Monday in a virtual press briefing when asked if there were any signs that China was going to use its position to rein in Pyongyang following the recent summit between the leaders of the U.S. and China.

Kirby said that in the talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Joe Biden made it very clear that Beijing could exert influence on the North.

He added that the U.S. would like to see China use that authority appropriately, not only as a neighbor and bilateral trade partner of North Korea but also as a member of the UN Security Council.

Kirby said that not only was Beijing refraining from leaning on Pyongyang to the desired effect, it was in fact doing quite the opposite.

Noting that the North launched more missiles last month and there is more work to be done, he said Washington would like Beijing to participate in efforts to convince Pyongyang to cease its hostile actions.