China's envoy to the North Korean nuclear disarmament talks says he hopes the six-party negotiations can resume in June.
Wu Dawei told the state-run newspaper China Daily that restarting the talks was China's "expectation," but admitted it is "difficult to say if this will be realized."
Beijing hosts the six-nation talks, which include both North and South Korea, Russia, Japan and the United States. The talks have been on hold since Pyongyang withdrew last year in protest of U.N. sanctions imposed after it conducted nuclear and long-range missile tests.
North Korea says it will return to the talks, in exchange for ending U.N. sanctions and beginning talks with the United States to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.