US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called major partner South Korea on Saturday to discuss the outcomes of his visit to China earlier this month, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to a ministry statement, Blinken told South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin that he had an honest, realistic, and constructive talk with the Chinese side and wanted to explain the findings of his visit in as much detail as possible.

Blinken and Park decided to continue to communicate regarding relations with China and to urge Beijing to play a constructive role in North Korea’s suspension of provocations and denuclearisation, the ministry said.

During the visit to China where Blinken met President Xi Jinping and other top officials, the two sides agreed to stabilise their intense rivalry so it does not veer into conflict, but failed to produce any major breakthrough.

Meanwhile, North Korea criticised Blinken for trying to get China to pressure Pyongyang to lay down arms, and warned that its response will grow “more overwhelmingly and aggressively” to any stronger military measures by the United States on the Korean Peninsula, state media KCNA said on Saturday.

Blinken’s “threats” for China to pressure Pyongyang expresses a “dangerous hegemonic mentality”, KCNA said, citing a North Korean foreign ministry official.

North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast last week, less than an hour after Pyongyang warned of a response to military drills by South Korean and U.S. troops.

The isolated country is under international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.