Wu Dawei, China's special envoy on Korean affairs, will visit from August 26 to 28, the ministry said in a press statement.

Wu visited Pyongyang last week to discuss the resumption of six-party talks aimed at persuading the North to give up its nuclear weapons in return for diplomatic and economic gains.

Pyongyang walked out on the talks, also involving South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan, in April 2009 in protest at UN condemnation of an apparent missile test disguised as a space rocket launch.

It carried out its second nuclear test the following month, sparking tougher UN sanctions.

Wu will meet South Korea's chief nuclear envoy Wi Sung-Lac and Kim Sung-Hwan, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs.

"He will explain the results of his recent trip to Pyongyang and discuss the North's nuclear issue," the ministry said.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.