A newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party on Friday blamed what it calls a "hostile policy" by South Korea, the United States and Japan toward North Korea for the North's fourth nuclear test.

In an editorial, the state-run Global Times newspaper appeared to defend North Korea's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons, saying there will be "no hope" for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions unless South Korea, the U.S. and Japan change their policy toward the North.

All eyes are on the role of China, which keeps North Korea's moribund economy afloat, after Pyongyang announced it conducted a "successful" test of a hydrogen bomb that marked the isolated regime's fourth nuclear test since 2006.

The Wednesday test is seen as a diplomatic failure by Chinese President Xi Jinping of trying to rein in the key ally. While China has said it is "firmly opposed" to the nuclear test, Beijing's leadership has been reluctant to use more leverage over Pyongyang because it could lead to the North's collapse and instability on its border.

"The root causes of the North Korean nuclear issue are very complicated. For one thing, the North Korean regime has chosen the wrong path for security, and for another, the U.S. has persistently stuck to a hostile policy toward North Korea," the editorial reads.

"There is no hope to put an end to the North Korean nuclear conundrum if the U.S., South Korea and Japan do not change their policies toward Pyongyang," it said. "Solely depending on Beijing's pressure to force the North to give up its nuclear plan is an illusion."

During a telephone discussion on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, "There cannot be business as usual" after North Korea's fourth nuclear test.

Kerry said he reached the agreement with Wang, after making clear to his Chinese counterpart that the latest nuclear test has proven that Beijing's approach to the North Korean nuclear issue "has not worked."

In return, Wang stressed that China "remains committed to achieving the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a brief statement. (Yonhap)