Trump: 'Had a very good call' with China's Xi about N.K. menace

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had a "very good call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping about threats from North Korea.

Trump gave no further details of the phone call that took place just days after the two leaders held their first meeting in Florida last week and agreed to increase cooperation to persuade Pyongyang to end its nuclear program.

"Had a very good call last night with the President of China concerning the menace of North Korea," Trump said in a tweet.

Earlier in the day, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that Xi emphasized the importance of a peaceful resolution to the nuclear issue during the call with Trump, and the two sides agreed to strengthen high-level consultations.

The call came amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid speculation that North Korea may conduct its sixth nuclear test or carry out a threatened test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. around its key anniversaries in April.

The U.S. has sent an aircraft carrier strike group led by USS Carl Vinson toward the Korean Peninsula, rather than executing previously planned port visits to Australia, in a show of force designed to warn the North against additional provocations.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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