The United States and its allies will push through with sanctions against North Korea which China may not like if Beijing continues to refuse to lend support to global efforts to denuclearize Pyongyang, a top American diplomat said on Wednesday.

Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who was in talks with the South Korean President in Seoul, issued the warning to China, a day before he was to make a trip to the mainland to talk with Chinese officials and pressure them into cooperating with the US and other nations in imposing sanctions against the erring country.

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China's economic leverage

Blinken said he will pressure Chinese authorities to use their economic leverage on the North and force it to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

"I think what we will be talking to China about is that we will, both in terms of sanctions and in terms of our defense postures, have to take additional steps in order to use the leverage we have in order to defend ourselves and our allies if North Korea doesn't change its behavior,"  Blinken said in an interview.

Blinken said the additional steps the US and its allies will take will not target China, but he pointed out that China though "may not like them."

Secondary sanctions

The American diplomat said the US has already readied sanctions, including secondary ones, that it will impose against North Korea. He said they are the same sanctions imposed against Iran.

He explained that the sanctions will target third party countries doing business with North Korea.

Some experts say the secondary sanctions the US will put in place may economically hurt China the most as it has been the largest trading partner of North Korea for decades.

US missile system

Reports indicate that South Korean President Park Geun-hye was amenable to the US offer to deploy its missile system to Seoul as a form of security amid the growing nuclear and missile system of North Korea.

China has vehemently opposed the deployment of the missile system saying it would destabilize the security in the Korean peninsula.

"I think China has an incentive to use its own leverage to achieve the result and thus make it less necessary for us and our partners to take steps that China may not like,"  Blinken said.

Nuclear test

Over the years, China has failed to put as much pressure on North Korea as Washington wants over fears that such a move may make North Korea more aggressive or worse, push its government to collapse.

Blinken said North Korea's nuclear test this month was proof of China's reluctance to impose sanctions on the North after six decades of supporting its economy.

Japan, the US, and South Korea recently met at a trilateral meeting in Seoul to discuss the fate of North Korea after its nuclear test on Jan. 6.

They urged China to support the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that will authorize "strong and comprehensive" sanctions against North Korea.

TagsNorth Korea nuclear test, US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, secondary sanctions, China's economic leverage