The U.S. and China have agreed that inter-Korean dialogue is necessary to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed on the critical importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula in a joint statement released after their bilateral summit in Washington on Wednesday.

They pledged to make joint efforts to establish peace in the region, and expressed concerns about North Korea’s uranium enrichment program.

While calling for sincere and constructive inter-Korean dialogue as an essential step, the two leaders stressed on the need to take concrete and effective measures to ensure that North Korea abides by a six-party agreement it signed in 2005 to dismantle its nuclear program.