US President George W. Bush said today he would welcome the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) back to the six-party talks over its nuclear program.

"I am pleased and I want to thank the Chinese," Bush told reporters at the White House after meeting with Andrew Natsios, his special envoy on Sudan.

"It's clear the North Koreans got the message from the Chinese and everybody else," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

Bush said the agreement did not halt the United States' effort to enforce a UN Security Council resolution passed in response to the DPRK's atomic test.

Bush said he would be sending teams to Asia to verify the application of a UN resolution imposing sanctions on the DPRK and to monitor nuclear talks with Pyongyang once they resumed.

Bush made the remarks soon after a source from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula would be held soon.

As proposed by China, the heads of delegations to the six-party talks from China, the DPRK and the United States had an informal meeting in Beijing on Tuesday, said the source.

"The three parties agreed that the six-party talks be held soon at a time convenient to the six parties," the source said.

The source said the three parties had a "candid" and "in-depth" exchange of views on continuing efforts to advance the process of the six-party talks.

"We welcome the announcement and look forward to resuming the talks soon," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

The U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, said the six-party talks, which involved the United States, the DPRK, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, could resume as early as November or December.

The six-party talks have been stalled since November last year when the last round of talks were held in Beijing.

The United States has urged the DPRK to return to the six-party talks although the DPRK conducted a nuclear test on Oct. 9.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in mid-October on the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK.

The resolution condemned the nuclear test, and demanded that the DPRK eliminate its nuclear weapons and nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, as well as imposing sanctions on the DPRK in spheres related to its nuclear, ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.