North Korea nuclear talks to resume
Negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programme will resume this week for the first time in nine months, China said.
The talks have been on hold since October due to a dispute over North Korea's obligation to declare its nuclear programmes.
"The six-party talks have made important progress. In order to move forward ... all parties have agreed to have a meeting in Beijing on July 10," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
Qin said the meeting was scheduled for three days, but that could change depending on whether progress is made.
The talks - which include China, Japan, Russia, the US and the two Koreas - are back on after Pyongyang submitted a partial declaration of its nuclear programmes and made progress in disabling its main atomic facility.
The talks were expected to focus on how to verify the North's nuclear list.
In response to the declaration, the US announced it would remove the North from a list of state sponsors of terrorism and relax some economic sanctions against the communist nation.
To demonstrate its commitment to disarm, Pyongyang destroyed the cooling tower at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex.
But signalling potential difficulties in the upcoming talks, the North said last week it will not take further steps to dismantle its nuclear programme until the US and its other negotiating partners provide it with promised fuel oil and political benefits.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said it is "not easy" and "will take time" to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear programmes.