China's foreign ministry says no firm date has been set for resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
China's Xinhua news agecy says foreign ministry spokeswoman Jian Yu told reporters Thursday, the date for the talks is still under discussion.
She called on all parties to take a flexible and substantive approach on the North Korean nuclear issue.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill - who just returned from a trip to China this week - has said he expects the six-party talks to resume in mid-December.
U.S. officials say Hill will head back to China Sunday for further discussions.
Wednesday, the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, quoted a North Korean official as saying the North will not abandon its nuclear weapons program ahead of the talks.
The U.S. State Department downplayed the remarks. A spokesman said Hill saw nothing disturbing in the comments and does not see North Korea pulling back from the talks.
North Korea agreed last month to return to the talks following an underground nuclear test.
The six-party talks bring together North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.