china and the United States have agreed that denuclearization of the korean peninsula will be "complete, demonstrable and irreversible," according to Chinese state media, which reported on this week's talks between Chinese and US officials in Washington. "Both sides confirm that they are committed to the complete, demonstrable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," says a joint document published by the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Economic pressure on North Korea

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday that The United States, during the meeting with Chinese diplomats and defense officials, called on Beijing to create greater economic and political pressure on North Korea.

Tillerson and US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with high Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi and General Fang Fenghui.

The joint document stresses the need for full and strict adherence to the United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for dialogue and negotiations, which has long been Beijing's approach. It also adds that military exchanges and information mechanisms need to be empowered to avoid the risk of "guilty estimates" between the US and Chinese military. The Chinese state media announced the progress of dialogue between Beijing and Washington. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Trump in April in Florida, and their next meeting is expected to happen next month during the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Otto Warmbier's death complicates relations

During last week's talks, Trump said that the Chinese attempts to calm Pyongyang failed, causing new doubts about his administration's approach to North Korean threats. The death of American student Otto Warmbier, who passed away last week after being released from 17 months of detention in Pyongyang for stealing a propaganda poster, further complicated the American president's attitude towards that communist state.

China, a North Korean main trading partner, is accused of not fully implementing the existing UN sanctions and refusing to undertake more stringent measures. Washington, therefore, considers "secondary sanctions" against Chinese banks and companies that continue to cooperate with North Korea.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang denied that US student Otto Warmbier, who died after returning to the United States after being imprisoned in North Korea, was tortured or abused in jail.

This is the first statement North Korea had made pertaining to the death of the 22-year-old American student who was returned to his homeland on June 13. He was in coma when he was brought to America.