Tillerson holds first set of talks with Chinese counterpart

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, front left, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, front right, pose with, back row from left, South Korea Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se, Italy Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and India Foreign Minister Mallika Joseph Akbar at the G20 foreign ministers meeting group photo at the World Conference Center in Bonn, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Foreign ministers from 20 of the world’s leading nations met Thursday in the former German capital to discuss current conflicts and ways to prevent future crises against a backdrop of uncertainty among allies and adversaries about the direction of U.S. foreign policy. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool) (The Associated Press)

Germany's Foreign Minister, Sigmar Gabriel, left, and US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, talk after a dinner with G-20 ministers at the Villa Hammerschmidt Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 in Bonn, Germany. Foreign ministers from 20 of the world’s leading nations met Thursday in the former German capital to discuss current conflicts and ways to prevent future crises against a backdrop of uncertainty among allies and adversaries about the direction of U.S. foreign policy. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool) (The Associated Press)

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has met with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since becoming America's top diplomat and urged China to do more to rein in North Korea's provocative actions.

Tillerson spoke with Foreign Minister Wang Yi Friday in the German city of Bonn. The State Department said they agreed to address differences constructively and that Tillerson highlighted the need for China "to use all available tools to moderate North Korea's destabilizing behavior."

Such requests of the Chinese from U.S. officials have become commonplace in recent years and have been met with limited success. China is North Korea's only ally and main trading partner and as such is seen as having influence over Pyongyang, which has embarked on a series of nuclear and missile tests,