The U.S. Army Pacific commander said Tuesday he held talks with Chinese military officials about North Korea when he recently visited the country.

Gen. Vincent Brooks made the remark in an interview with the Brookings Institution's "Order from Chaos" blog, emphasizing the importance of dialogue with countries in the region about Pyongyang.

He did not provide specifics of his discussions with the Chinese officials, but it is still seen as unusual for U.S. and Chinese military authorities to talk about the North.

"I was just there in China a few weeks ago in Beijing and also in Hainan, and we did talk about North Korea," he said, apparently referring to his January trip to China.

The general said the U.S. should continue to talk to regional players and partners, such as China, South Korea and Japan, about the North, including what happens in one of the world's most closed nations.

"The actions that they take are provocative. They are uncertain because there is no transparency whatsoever, and as a result, the potential for miscalculation, in that circumstance, like it would be anywhere else, is very, very high," he said.

The commander also said the U.S. Pacific Command, especially U.S. Forces Korea, always remain in a "ready to fight tonight" type of posture.

"My responsibility as a component of PACOM, like the other components, is to ensure that force that is concentrated there on that Korean peninsula is sustained, able to do what it needs to do and that we're also ready to reinforce it if that is what is needed to be," he said. (Yonhap)