China's Xi urges "peaceful resolution" on N.Korea in phone talk with Trump

PanARMENIAN.Net - Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a peaceful resolution of rising tensions on the Korean peninsula in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, April 12, as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group steams towards the region, Reuters reports.

Xi's call with Trump came after an influential state-run Chinese newspaper warned that the Korean peninsula was the closest it has been to a "military clash" since Pyongyang's first nuclear test in 2006.

Tension has escalated sharply on the Korean peninsula amid concerns that reclusive North Korea could soon conduct a sixth nuclear test or more missile launches and Trump's threat of unilateral action to solve the problem.

Trump had already ordered the US Vinson aircraft carrier group to head for the Korean peninsula in an attempt to deter North Korea's nuclear and long-range missile ambitions, which it is developing in defiance of United Nations resolutions and sanctions.

Wednesday's call between Xi and Trump came hard on the heels of their first face-to-face meeting in Florida last week. It was not immediately clear who initiated the call.

Trump, who has urged China to do more to rein in North Korea, had warned earlier on Twitter that Pyongyang was "looking for trouble" and that the United States would "solve the problem" with or without Beijing's help.

Xi stressed that China "is committed to the target of decentralization on the peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula, and advocates resolving problems through peaceful means," Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said of the exchange between the two leaders.

"China is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with the U.S. side", Xi said.