US urges China to press North Korea after rocket launch

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday asked China to exert its influence on North Korea after the impoverished nation carried out an apparently successful long-range rocket launch.

The United States raised North Korea's launch as Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, visited the Pentagon for annual defence talks between the Pacific powers.

Jim Miller, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told Qi that North Korea's launch was a "clear violation" of UN Security Council resolutions, the Pentagon said in a statement.

"He urged China to work with the United States and the international community to insist that North Korea live up to its commitments, adhere to its international obligations and deal peacefully with its neighbors," it said.