BEIJING — Top U.S. and Chinese officials sparred Wednesday over how to deal with North Korea’s latest nuclear weapons test and ease tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met for more than four hours and said their discussions were “constructive” and “candid.” But at a joint news conference, they presented sharply opposing positions on the two issues.

Kerry acknowledged that “our differences will continue to test us.” Still, he stressed that the world benefits when the United States and China are able to work together, including on the Iran nuclear deal and climate change.

On North Korea, Kerry said the United States wanted new U.N. Security Council action that would impose “significant new measures” to punish Pyongyang for its test this month and boost pressure on the North to return to disarmament talks.

“There’s been a lot of talk about North Korea through these past years. Now we believe is the time for action that can bring North Korea back to the table,” Kerry said.

Wang said China, which is North Korea’s most important ally, chief trading partner and a key source of economic assistance, agreed on the need for a new resolution. But he suggested that Beijing would not support new penalties even though it has condemned the testing. “Sanctions are not an end in themselves,” he said.

“The new resolution should not provoke new tension in the situation, still less destabilize the Korean Peninsula,” Wang said.

Kerry noted that sanctions had brought Iran to the nuclear negotiating table. “More significant and impactful sanctions were put in place against Iran, which did not have a nuclear weapon than against North Korea, which does.”

“All nations, particularly those who seek a global leadership role, or have a global leadership role, have a responsibility to deal with this threat,” he said, referring to China.

Kerry said the sides agreed both on the need for a strong new resolution on North Korea, but also to accelerate talks on what that would entail.

“It’s good to agree on the goal. But it’s not enough to agree on the goal, we believe we need to agree on the meaningful steps necessary to get to the achievement of the goal to the negotiations that result in denuclearization,” Kerry said.

Wang also took umbrage at U.S. complaints that China is not doing as much as it can with the leverage it has on North Korea. He noted that China’s position has been consistent in opposing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and supporting a diplomatic resolution to the matter.

“For many years China has been working hard to implement these,” he said. “We have delivered on our obligation.”

Kerry said China is North Korea’s main link to the outside world, and that it could do more to limit cross-border transactions that benefit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his government.

Kerry also called on China to halt land reclamation and construction of airstrips in disputed areas of the South China Sea. Those steps have alarmed its smaller neighbors.

“I stressed the importance of finding common ground among the claimants and avoiding the destabilizing cycle of mistrust or escalation,” Kerry said.