China and South Korea have agreed to slap tougher sanctions on North Korea if it carries out nuclear or long-range missile tests, a senior official in Seoul says, as a US Navy strike group headed to the region in a show of force.
North Korea marks several major anniversaries in April and often marks the occasions with major tests of military hardware.
The possibility of US military action against North Korea in response to such tests gained traction following last week's strikes against Syria.
Previously, Washington has leaned toward sanctions and pressure to deter North Korea but comments from US President Donald Trump's top aides at the weekend suggest that position might be hardening.
However, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Kim Hong-kyun, said there was no mention of any military option in his talks with China's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs, Wu Dawei.
The two also did not discuss any possible strike against the North by the Trump administration, he said.
"Both sides agreed that despite the international community's warnings, if North Korea makes strategic provocations such as a nuclear test or an ICBM launch, there should be strong additional measures in accordance with UN security council resolutions," Kim told reporters.
Kim said the two sides agreed "an even stronger UN resolution" would have to be adopted in the event of additional weapons test by North Korea.
Wu did not speak to reporters.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the US military strike against Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons was a warning to other countries including North Korea that "a response is likely" if they pose a danger.
"(Chinese) President Xi (Jinping) clearly understands, and I think agrees, that the situation has intensified and has reached a certain level of threat that action has to be taken," Tillerson said on CBS's Face the Nation.
The US Navy strike group Carl Vinson cancelled a planned trip to Australia and was moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean Peninsula as a show of force, a US official told Reuters at the weekend.
North Korea has sounded a note of defiance against the US, calling the strikes against Syria on Friday "an unforgivable act of aggression" that showed Pyongyang's decision to develop nuclear weapons was "the right choice".
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