A British daily is urging U.S. President Barack Obama to stop blaming China over North Korea and start holding talks to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The Guardian said in an article Monday that North Korea's aggressive behavior is placing serious new strains on the already fraught relations between China and the U.S. It says both superpowers stand to lose much more than they could possibly gain from intensifying confrontation.

The article cited a U.S. official as saying that “the Chinese embrace of North Korea in the last eight months has served to convince North Korea that China has its back and has encouraged it to behave with impunity.”

The article also noted that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted fellow foreign ministers from Japan and South Korea --- but not China --- in a discussion of additional measures to contain or punish North Korea.

The article suggested Obama stop pressuring North Korea militarily and start pursuing dialogue.