China said yesterday that no fixed date has yet been decided for restarting six-party talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told a routine press conference she had "no confirmed information" about when the long-stalled talks would resume.

"The date of the next six-party talks is still under discussion," she said.

Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state, said Tuesday after a whirlwind one-day visit to Beijing that he believed the talks would probably resume in mid-December.

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that Hill is due to leave Sunday for Beijing for more talks and will continue efforts to convene a new round of negotiations, according to the Associated Press.

Although Jiang did not confirm Hill's upcoming visit to China at the press conference, she said China would like to further exchange views on the talks with all relevant parties, including the United States.

She also called for parties concerned to take a "flexible and substantive approach" to the issue and work toward the early resumption of the talks and make concerted efforts to achieve progress.

The six-party talks, launched in 2003, were suspended last November when Pyongyang walked out in protest against financial sanctions imposed by Washington.

After carrying out a nuclear test on Oct. 9, the DPRK government agreed to return to the talks with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States, but did not indicate a specific date.