US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Beijing Tuesday evening for meetings with senior government leaders, with North Korea top of the agenda following the reclusive state's fourth nuclear test earlier this month.

The top US diplomat will also raise concerns over Beijing's "problematic behaviour" in the South China Sea and the thorny issues of humans rights and civil freedoms, a senior State Department official said.

North Korea is expected to dominate the talks between Kerry with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other senior officials, as the international community seeks to squeeze Pyongyang with fresh sanctions following its latest nuclear test on January 6.

China is North Korea's chief diplomatic protector and economic benefactor, but those ties have been strained as Beijing loses patience with Pyongyang's unwillingness to rein in its nuclear weapons ambitions.

"The Secretary has made no secret... of his conviction that there is much more that China can do by way of applying leverage (on Pyongyang)," the US official said.

The South China Sea will also be discussed as tensions and territorial disputes in the vital waterway between Beijing and its neighbours in Southeast Asia -- backed by Washington -- threaten to degenerate into conflict.

"The continuing tensions and problematic behaviour by China in the South China Sea is very much on the Secretary's mind and something that he will certainly discuss in depth," the US official said.

Finally, Kerry will raise with his hosts "what we see as a very significant tightening of political space for civil society and for NGOs," the US official said.

Kerry's visit to Beijing is the last leg of a three-continent tour that began in Davos with stops in Saudi Arabia, Laos and Cambodia.