Sen. John McCain said Sunday it was time to discuss "regime change" in North Korea, but the former Navy combat pilot didn't say how he advocates changing the government in the repressive and secretive dictatorship.

McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was not suggesting military action against the North. He said the Chinese, the North's closest ally, should rein in its neighbor, and he accused Beijing of failing to play a responsible role in either the Korean peninsula, where tensions are high because of a recent attack by the North, or the world stage.