Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters the six participating nations agreed on the date to resume their discussions in Beijing.

The chief negotiators at six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. Clockwise from top left, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev, Japanese Director-General for Asia and Oceania Sasae Kenichiro, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei.

The talks will start again after a 37-day recess called on Aug. 7 when the U.S. and North Korea failed to agree on Pyongyang's right to a civilian nuclear program. During the recess, Washington and Pyongyang held direct and indirect contacts but have not significantly narrowed their differences. A South Korean official said there was no cause for optimism about the coming talks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Japan have stipulated three conditions North Korea must fulfill if it is to be allowed a peaceful nuclear program, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday. It must dismantle all its current nuclear programs, rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty and recover the trust of the international community.

The paper said that while the U.S. and Japan are maintaining their existing positions that North Korea completely dismantle its nuclear program, the conditions were prepared in order to lead North Korea to make a concession by opening the possibility to a peaceful nuclear program.

(englishnews@chosun.com )