The Chinese ambassador to the UN said on Tuesday that the six-party talks on nuclear programs on the Korean Peninsula are expected to resume in the next few weeks in Beijing.

Wang Guangya told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that all sides agree the talks are "the best way" to resolve the issue.

It has been about a year since the last round of the talks was held in Beijing between China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, Russia, the Republic of Korea and the US.

"All sides are working to make sure the six-party talks will be resumed as soon as possible," Wang said.

US and DPRK officials met in New York on Monday in a new effort to restart the talks, which stalled in June last year when the DPRK accused the US of adopting a hostile policy toward it.

US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said on Tuesday that the DPRK has informed the US that it is willing to resume the six-party talks, but did not specify a date.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2005)