South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday he asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to serve as a mediator to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis and ease animosities between the two Koreas.

Axar.az infoms, citing AP, he said he made the request when the two leaders met for a summit earlier this week.

Speaking with reporters traveling with him on the Shanghai leg of his China trip, Lee cited Xi as replying that patience was needed on North Korean issues during their Monday summit in Beijing.

“We’re making efforts but all our channels (with North Korea) are completely blocked so we can’t communicate at all. I told him it would be good for China to play the role of a mediator for peace,” Lee said in televised comments. “President Xi appraised our efforts and said we need to be patient.”