Asked by reporters whether Beijing supported a US proposal to hold the next round of multilateral talks on the year-long nuclear crisis in November, Li said: "I agree. But we have to see time developments and the situation of our work."

Li added: "We have to continue making efforts on this. Of course the earlier the better."

He indicated the various parties faced many challenges in resuming six-nation discussions, the first round of which concluded in Beijing in August with no results.

"I think there are many difficulties, but we need to have steady courage and patience, flexibility and creativity to overcome difficulties because there is nothing more precious than peace," he said on the sidelines of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Bangkok.

Li said he had a "very good" exchange of views with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov during an APEC ministerial meeting Saturday in which they pulled each other aside to discuss North Korea and Iraq.

"We agreed to continue making efforts to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue," Li said of his brief talks with Powell.

But he warned that even if the various parties succeed in convincing Pyongyang to hold another round of talks, the issue cannot be resolved with just a few meetings.

"The North Korean nuclear issue is such a difficult and sensitive issue. It is impossible to resolve it in one or two meetings."

With leaders from APEC's 21 nations gathered here, including from five participants of the six-nation North Korean talks, Li said he hoped progress could be made on the North Korean crisis.

"Now the international community is very much concerned about the North Korean nuclear issue and hope it will be peacefully resolved through dialogue. We hope there will be progress in this matter," Li said.

Li said he supported Japan being included in future talks despite Pyongyang's insistence that Tokyo be excluded, but suggested China may want to see specific disputes between Tokyo and Pyongyang addressed in another setting.

"We hope the problems between Japan and North Korea can be properly resolved through their existing bilateral channels," Li said.

Japanese officials said Saturday that support for Japan's participation in six-way talks remained solid but it was unclear whether APEC leaders would join Japan in a statement urging Pyongyang to disarm.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and separately with South Korea's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young-Kwan on the sidelines of APEC meeting here Saturday.

"Their basic stance of understanding and support has not changed," Kawaguchi told reporters.

But whether Japan would gain support on a weapons statement was "still up in the air," said foreign ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima.

Earlier Saturday Kawaguchi declined to say whether Japan was trying to address the abuction of its citizens by Pyongyang in the statement.

The APEC statement on North Korea would follow one made at the forum's meeting in Mexico last year which told Pyongyang to "honor its commitment to give up nuclear weapons".

China is seen as reluctant to sign on to a fresh declaration for fear of pushing its ally too hard.

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