By Andrew BEATTY
The United States moved Thursday to keep pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea and reassure China over the proposed deployment of a sophisticated anti-missile system to South Korea.
After meeting with South Korean and Japanese allies at the start of a nuclear summit in Washington, President Barack Obama said there is a need to "vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures" against Pyongyang, following provocative nuclear and missile tests that violated several UN resolutions.
North Korea in January detonated a nuclear device and launched a long-range rocket a month later, the latest in a series of tests that have alarmed regional neighbors.
The White House wants to keep up pressure on the North Korean regime, increasing the economic and diplomatic cost of ignoring international appeals to mothball its nukes.
"The international community must remain united in the face of North Korea's continued provocations," Obama wrote in an article published on the eve of the summit.
"The additional sanctions recently imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations Security Council show that violations have consequences."
Obama kicked off the nuclear security summit by holding discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, followed by a separate sit-down with President Xi Jinping of China.
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