The talks -- which are hosted by Beijing -- had previously secured North Korean pledges to give up its nuclear programmes, only to see Pyongyang reverse course and storm out of the discussions last year.

"The current situation on the Korean peninsula is complicated and sensitive," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

"We hope that relevant parties can remain calm, exercise restraint, meet each other halfway and do more to alleviate tensions."

China's top North Korean nuclear envoy Wu Dawei has recently visited the two Koreas, Japan and the United States in an effort to restart the negotiations.

Jiang said Wu will next visit Russia, the sixth nation involved in the stop-start discussions, which were first convened in 2003.

"We hope that parties can make joint efforts so that the issue of northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula can be brought back to the track of dialogue, consultation and political settlement," Jiang said.

The March sinking of a South Korean naval vessel that left 46 sailors dead has remained a key obstacle to restarting the denuclearisation talks, with South Korea and the United States blaming the incident on North Korea.

Pyongyang has adamantly denied involvement.

On Wednesday, the United States said it planned more consultations with its partners after hearing China's perspective on reviving the talks.

The United States wants to see unspecified actions from North Korea that would make renewed talks worthwhile while also calling for an end to North Korean provocations, a US diplomat said.

Amid the diplomatic flurry, Beijing's state media quoted North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il telling Chinese President Hu Jintao during a secretive visit to China last week that he was willing to return to the negotiating table.

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.