(VOVworld) - US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that if North Korea continues to advance its weapons programs, the US will be compelled to take defensive measures that China will not like.

In a speech at the Brooking Institution, Blinken said North Korea is getting closer to having nuclear missiles that could threaten the US. He said that while China's influence over the North has diminished, it still has economic leverage. Blinken called on China to take a lead role in implementing sanctions against North Korea and said the US is willing to reveal to China the specifications of a US missile defense system which may be deployed in South Korea to counter the threat of North Korean missiles. Blinken offered assurance that the system will not undermine China's strategic deterrence. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon meet on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in Washington, several weeks after China agreed to new stiff sanctions against North Korea in response to a recent nuclear test and rocket launch.