Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the talk between Abe and Trump lasted for about 50 minutes.

"The role that China can play is extremely important," he told a news conference.

"Japan intends to call on those countries involved - including the UN, the United States and South Korea to start, but also China and Russia - to take on additional duties and actions to increase pressure," Mr Suga said, declining to give details about what those steps might be.

Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement China must decide if it is willing to back imposing stronger U.N. sanctions on North Korea over Friday night's long-range missile test, the North's second this month.

Any new UN Security Council resolution "that does not significantly increase the international pressure on North Korea is of no value", Haley said, adding that Japan and South Korea also needed to do more.