Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed to U.S. President Joe Biden the need to address Pyongyang’s concerns with regard to the North Korean nuclear issue, according to Beijing.

China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that Xi delivered the stance during his summit with Biden in Bali on Monday.

Wang said Xi had stressed the need to determine the source of the problem surrounding the Korean Peninsula and address the concerns of each related party, particularly what he termed "the North’s reasonable woes," in a balanced manner.

Wang’s remark drew attention for specifically mentioning the North, unlike Beijing’s statement on the summit released a day earlier that did not specifically refer to “North Korea,” “North Korea’s nuclear issue” or “the Korean Peninsula.”

Observers say that in delivering such a stance to Biden, Xi apparently sought to refrain from directly targeting the U.S. while shielding Pyongyang.