USA: China has been urged by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to support efforts to persuade North Korea to stop its "dangerous behaviour" and communicate with the US.

Blinken told reporters on Monday that during his two days in Beijing, he had "robust" discussions with officials, including ones regarding North Korea's "increasingly reckless actions and rhetoric." He had also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He said at the US Embassy in Beijing that "China is in a unique position to press Pyongyang to engage in dialogue and to end its dangerous behaviour." "All members of the international community have an interest in encouraging the DPRK to act responsibly, to stop launching missiles, to start engaging on its nuclear programme," he added.

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Blinken did not elaborate on his objectives for Beijing in relation to North Korea, but US officials have previously asserted that Beijing has the power to affect Pyongyang's policies. President Joe Biden claimed after his first face-to-face meeting with Xi last year that China had a "obligation" to discourage its neighbour from conducting further nuclear tests and threatened to take "defensive" action in the event of another test.

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Similar claims have been made by South Korea. President Yoon Suk-yeol said last year that "China has the capability to influence North Korea" and has a "responsibility to engage in the process." Echoing Washington's long-held position, he asserted that Beijing would benefit from the DPRK's denuclearization.

Over the past year, tensions between the United States and North Korea have risen sharply as a result of US forces conducting numerous joint military exercises with Seoul, which Pyongyang has criticised as a practise for an invasion. The DPRK has retaliated with a number of weapons tests, the number of which reached records last year, and has maintained that it has the right to develop its military independently of US interference, including the development of a nuclear arsenal.

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While the US and its allies in the region have put the blame for the recent uptick in hostilities on North Korea, Chinese officials have frequently criticised American wargames conducted on the Korean Peninsula, saying the exercises only serve to exacerbate the situation and elicit more extreme responses from Pyongyang.