North Korea "must stop its provocative and escalatory behavior," the White House said early Saturday after President Donald Trump stepped up his warnings against Pyongyang and spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping by phone.

During their call, the leaders also hailed the adoption of a United Nations Security Council resolution targeting the North as an "important and necessary step toward achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," a White House statement read.

"The presidents also reiterated their mutual commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," it added, stressing the two leaders had an "extremely close relationship" that "will hopefully lead to a peaceful resolution of the North Korea problem."

Source: AFP