The Russian and Chinese presidents have pledged to shield North Korea from sanctions and military pressure, according to a joint statement released after their talks in Beijing, just days after their American counterpart claimed the U.S. and China had agreed to denuclearize the DPRK.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping voiced support for political means to preserve peace on the Korean Peninsula, while opposing pressure on Pyongyang, in a statement released by the Kremlin after their summit.

“The parties oppose foreign policy isolation, economic sanctions, military pressure and other methods of creating security threats to the DPRK,” the statement said, adding