Outgoing US President Barack Obama has urged China to strictly enforce international sanctions and implement new embargoes against North Korea during his meeting with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Lima, Peru over the weekend.

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Obama made the request to President Xi following the two sides' agreement that Washington and Beijing would immediately act on future North Korean provocations including ballistic missile and nuclear tests.

According to Japan's Jiji Press, the two leaders held talks during a bilateral meeting between the two world's superpowers on Saturday in which Xi pointed out that current US-China relations is at a "hinge moment" apparently referring to the election victory of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Differences

Despite the two leaders' differences on several issues one of which is the disputed South China Sea, the two sides nonetheless agreed once again to cooperate and work together to rein in Pyongyang and rid the country of nuclear weapons.

The United Nations has imposed sanctions against North Korea with the cooperation of Beijing following Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January this year.

However, a new and tougher resolution is yet to be adopted as punishment for the North's fifth and latest nuclear test launched in September.

Last meeting

In his last meeting with Xi before he steps down as US president in January, Obama called on the Chinese leader to cooperate fully in taking measures to punish Pyongyang and heed the call of the global community to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

Jiji reported that the two world leaders also discussed the progress been made by both sides during Obama's term such as their joint efforts to address climate change.

Meanwhile, a top South Korean official told reporters in Seoul on Sunday that he has conferred with Trump's top defense advisers on the North Korean nuclear issue and that he expects a tougher policy on the Korean peninsula under the incoming administration.

China has long denounced the US' plans to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to Korean soil to counter the North's nuclear tests saying it would destabilize the security in the region and it might be used against China later on.

The Obama administration has repeatedly sought to allay China's fears by explaining that the anti-missile system will be used solely to deter Pyongyang's provocations. 

Tags24th APEC meeting, President Xi Jinping, President Barack Obama, North Korea, Nuclear Tests, china