Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun has touted traditional friendship with the North, according to China's state media on Wednesday, despite moves by the international community to impose tougher sanctions against Pyongyang following last week's nuclear test. 

Li made the remarks at a meeting with Chinese students living in Pyongyang on Tuesday, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported from Pyongyang. It marked Li's first public activity since North Korea announced it successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb last Wednesday. 

Li urged Chinese students to play a role in developing "the friendship between China and North Korea from generation to generation," the report said. 

Li made no mention of North Korea's fourth nuclear test.

Earlier on Wednesday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye called on China to take "necessary actions" to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test. 

The role of China, which keeps North Korea's moribund economy afloat, is important in ensuring the effectiveness of tougher sanctions against the isolated North.

However, many analysts believe that China's Communist Party leadership won't exert enough leverage on North Korea because a sudden collapse of the North's regime could threaten China's own security interests. (Yonhap)