The White House says it is discussing with other members of the U.N. Security Council placing sanctions on North Korea in response to the communist state’s detonation of a nuclear device on Monday.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs made the remark in a briefing on Friday in response to questions on whether China and Russia, which have historically been opposed to harsh sanctions on Pyongyang, might be willing to back such a move.

Gibbs said China has been “very helpful” over the last few days in regards to its response to the events that have occurred over the past week.

The spokesman added that U.S. President Barack Obama is involved in the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command’s move to elevate its surveillance level in response to North Korea’s threat of a military strike against the South.