Bush talks to China's Hu about N. Korea deal

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) US President George W Bush told Chinese President Hu Jintao today that North Korea must live up to its commitments under a deal calling for Pyongyang to take steps toward nuclear disarmament.

The phone call to Hu, whose government played a key role in pressuring North Korea to return to six-nation talks that yielded this week's breakthrough, followed similar discussions with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, also major players.

''President Bush spoke with Chinese President Hu Jintao this morning to congratulate him on the important role that China played in coming to the agreement,'' White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

''President Bush told President Hu that it was now up to the leader of North Korea to live up to the commitments made in order to create a better life for the North Korean people,'' he added.

Bush also ''emphasized the continued need for nations to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1718,'' Johndroe said, referring to a UN measure that imposed limited sanctions on Pyongyang after its nuclear test in October.

The deal hammered out in Beijing on Tuesday requires the secretive communist state to close its Yongbyon reactor within 60 days in exchange for 50,000 tons of fuel oil or equivalent aid.

REUTERS SSC RN2233