China is purposely failing to enforce U.N. sanctions against North Korea and sabotaging regional stability and peace, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday.

Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary for North Korea at the State Department, accused Beijing of trying to boost economic ties with Pyongyang and finagle a partial lifting of sanctions for the DPRK — a move that he said is “premature” considering that North Korea has not yet been denuclearized. 

“Chinese leaders are asking us to build the frame of the house, even furnish it without laying the foundation first,” Wong said during an online