BERLIN (REUTERS) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged the United States and China to put political pressure on North Korea over its nuclear programme, pressing for a peaceful resolution to escalating tensions.

"I don't put my trust in military means, but rather in political pressure being exerted on North Korea from different sides," Merkel told the Funke media group in comments released on Thursday (April 13).

"If China and the United States do that together, it won't be without consequence," she added.

On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a peaceful resolution of rising tension on the Korean peninsula in a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump, as a US aircraft carrier strike group steamed towards the region.