Li Bin, who has taken over recently as special envoy for North Korea, will visit North Korea until Thursday, before heading to the United States from October 24 to 27 and South Korea from October 28 to 30, the ministry said.

"The major topic is to discuss with officials from the three countries ... to make preparation for the next round of six-party talks," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a briefing.

The two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States resumed six-way talks on scrapping North Korea's nuclear arsenal in Beijing in September.

At the talks, North Korea agreed to a statement of principles under which it would give up its atomic weapons in return for energy and security guarantees.

But North Korea later warned it will not dismantle its nuclear arsenal until the United States delivers light-water reactors to allow it to generate power, leaving the prospect of prolonged multilateral wrangling.

September's six-party talks are expected to be followed by a new round of negotiations in November in the Chinese capital.

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