Chinese President Xi Jinping offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in a letter, cooperation to "accelerate peace" in the world, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported.

The move comes as tensions are at their peak on the Korean peninsula following a record series of missile tests by Pyongyang, while Seoul, Washington and Tokyo have boosted military cooperation.

Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on November 18, which fell from Japan. Kim Jong Un threatened the United States with a nuclear response if his country was attacked.

"The world, times and history are changing like never before," Xi said in response to a message from Kim, who congratulated him on his reappointment at the helm of the Chinese Communist Party and state in October.

"In the face of this new situation, I am ready to contribute positively with you (...) to accelerating peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the rest of the world," the Chinese president added.

China is North Korea's most important ally and trading partner, which is under severe UN sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.

After a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, China and Russia refused to join the 13 other council members - including the United States, India, France and Britain - in condemning Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on November 18.

In May, Beijing and Moscow vetoed a draft resolution introduced by Washington to strengthen sanctions against North Korea.

During an interview last week on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, US President Joe Biden asked Xi Jinping to tell North Korea "clearly" that it should not conduct a new nuclear test that Seoul and Washington believe he is preparing.

A US official said afterwards that "our diplomacy will certainly seek to get China to join the countries that condemn that day publicly and use their influence to persuade" North Korea.
Source: AFP