"To ensure a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through peaceful negotiations is in the interest of all sides and is conducive towards the region's stability," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said at a regular briefing.

"We hope that all parties can, according to the consensus reached at the third six-party talks, hold the next talks and the working group meeting before the end of September," he said.

"To ensure that, all parties must show a certain level of pragmatism and flexibility."

At the previous six-party talks in June, the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan agreed to meet again in Beijing by the end of September for new discussions.

But North Korea has adopted a more strident tone in recent weeks toward the United States and South Korea and has expressed doubts about the value of attending further talks on the nuclear standoff.

Kong refused to confirm a Sydney Morning Herald report that China will dispatch powerful Politburo Standing Committee member Li Changchun to Pyongyang next week for emergency talks with North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il.

He said, however, that China and North Korea have a tradition of holding regular high-level meetings.

"If there will be a high-level meeting, the leaders will hold talks on issues that are of mutual interest, to push forward cooperations and closer relations, to discuss regional issues and to seek to resolve these important issues," he said.

The stand-off flared in October 2002 when the United States accused Pyongyang of operating a nuclear weapons programme based on enriched uranium, violating a 1994 agreement.

Pyongyang has denied running the uranium-based program but has restarted its plutonium program.

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