The meeting will be held Thursday and Friday, bringing together Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Japanese ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuck and US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific affairs James Kelly.

They are expected to exchange and arrange their views ahead of the fourth round of six-way talks expected in Beijing this month.

The six-nation talks, involving China, the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States, are aimed at persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions.

China has sounded out the other members of the six-nation talks about holding the next round of talks on September 22-23, Kyodo News agency quoted anonymous sources close to the talks as saying Tuesday.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who is expected to chair the fourth round of talks, will make final schedule arrangements with North Korean officials when he visits North Korea later this week, it said.

The Japanese foreign ministry said it was still undecided when the next round of talks would be held.