"There are some difficulties but these are not difficulties which have just arisen at this moment," said foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan.

"Facing these difficulties, the parties in discussion should show patience, clear-mindedness and pragmatism and we should work together and ... have the next round before the end of September"

China is sending Li Changchun, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's powerful nine-strong top committee, to close ally North Korea on Friday in what is widely seen as a last ditch bid to persuade Pyongyang to attend the talks.

"The visit will cover some regional and international issues and I think that will also include the nuclear issue," Kong said, adding that the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula could be reached "step by step".

"I think this is not only the aspiration from the people in the region but also from the international community as well," he said.

In a sign that the multinational talks could go ahead, Japan's foreign ministry announced Tuesday that senior officials from Japan, South Korea and the United States would meet in Tokyo this week.

The meeting Thursday and Friday will bring together the chief negotiators from the three countries -- Japan's Mitoji Yabunaka, South Korea's Lee Soo-Hyuck and James Kelly from the United States.

According to Kyodo News, China has sounded out the other members of the six-nation talks which also include Russia about holding the next round on September 22-23.

The previous round of talks in June ended without concrete results, other than agreement to meet again in Beijing by the end of September.

Since then North Korea has adopted a more strident tone toward the United States and South Korea and has expressed doubt about the value of attending further discussions.

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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