U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed during talks in Washington on Wednesday that North Korea must abide by its denuclearization commitments and must also avoid future provocations.

In a joint news conference that followed a meeting between the two leaders, Obama said that he informed Hu that the U.S. appreciated China's role in reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

He also said that both leaders agreed that North Korea must avoid further provocations and that the paramount goal must be the complete denuclearization of the peninsula.

Obama said that North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile program is increasingly a direct threat to the security of the U.S. and its allies and that the North's uranium enrichment program violates international obligations.

Hu, on his part, said China will enhance cooperation and work with concerned parties to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula and to promote its denuclearization.

In a joint statement released after their meeting, the two emphasized the importance of an improvement in North-South relations and agreed that sincere and constructive inter-Korean dialogue is an essential step.