Story highlights Tillerson said China had threatened its own sanctions on North Korea

China remains one of North Korea's only allies

Washington (CNN) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday that China threatened the North Korean government with sanctions if it undertook another nuclear weapons test.

Tillerson made his comments on Fox News ahead of a visit to the United Nations and amid rising tensions over the North Korean nuclear weapons program.

"They confirmed to us that they had requested that the regime conduct no further nuclear test," Tillerson said of the Chinese. "In fact, we were told by the Chinese that they informed the (North Korean) regime that if they did conduct further nuclear tests, China would be taking sanctions action on their own."

China remains one of North Korea's only allies and is responsible for much of the heavily-sanctioned nation's economy.

President Donald Trump told Reuters on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping is "a very good man" and is trying to pressure North Korea.

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