Armitage's statement came as Russian diplomats in Beijing told AFP the talks would be held from August 27 to 29, although Chinese officials refused to comment on any speculation.

Asked during a television interview in Australia if the United States had a probable date for the talks, Armitage said, "Yes we do, probably, starting around the 27th of this month in Beijing."

In a turnaround this month North Korea agreed to a US proposal for the six-way talks on the crisis sparked by Pyongyang's decision to pursue a secret nuclear weapons program.

China, Japan, Russia and South Korea are also due to attend the talks.

Armitage, who has been meeting with Australian leaders in Canberra, also said the United States had accepted an Australian offer to provide experts and help in any verification program concerning North Korea's weapons programs.

"Any verification regime would have to be quite intrusive obviously, because there's a lack of faith and North Korean willingness to abide by their agreements," he said.

"I've had discussions with our Australian friends even during this trip about taking advantage of their experience in verification.

"They have made an offer and I have accepted it."

Armitage also said the top US envoy on North Korea, John Bolton, who recently infuriated North Korea by calling its leader Kim Jong-Il a "tyrannical dictator", would not take part in the six-nation talks.

"The US government will make the decision on who will participate in the upcoming six-way talks and Mr. Bolton was not scheduled and will not be participating in these talks," he said.

In Beijing, Russian diplomats said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was expected to attend the talks. Losyukov was in Beijing Monday and met with Chinese officials, including Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

China and Russia are considered Pyongyang's closest allies.

China's foreign ministry Tuesday refused to confirm any dates saying only that they would be revealed at "an opportune time", although Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Monday they would be held in late August.

The South Korean, Japanese, North Korean and US embassies in Beijing said they could not confirm the dates and that such issues were still under discussion.

"The dates are not confirmed yet, it is not decided, this is still being discussed," one diplomat said.

North and South Korean diplomats were in Moscow Tuesday to pave the way for the six-nation meeting, while Japanese and South Korean envoys will meet in Washington later this week to coordinate their positions.

Russia said Monday it and China were ready to provide Stalinist North Korea with security guarantees at the talks to reinforce any proposals Washington may make, Russian news agencies reported.

"We reaffirm our readiness to provide North Korea with such guarantees, should US guarantees not be enough," Interfax quoted Losyukov as telling Russian reporters in Beijing.

Losyukov said the guarantees would not involve military aid.

"We are talking about supplementing US guarantees, strengthening them, so that North Korea has more confidence in the US position," he said.

North Korea, which is suspected to have up to three nuclear bombs, has said it needs a nuclear arsenal to defend itself from an attack by the United States which it suspects of planning an Iraqi-style regime change.

Pyongyang has also called for a formal peace treaty to end the 1950-1953 Korean War, but the United States has refused to discuss the issue with the Stalinist nation in a bilateral setting.

WAR.WIRE