The United States said on Wednesday that it was pursuing a diplomatic solution of the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"We are working with the five parties to pursue a diplomatic solution," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at a news briefing.

"The fact that we are all sitting down at the table together is important progress. We put forward a plan at the last round of talks, and we are still waiting on North Korea's response to that," McClellan said.

McClellan said the DPRK "should sit down and continue to pursue action that will move them away from their ambitions," adding that the United States wants to see "the complete and verifiable end of North Korea's nuclear weapons program."

The United States on Tuesday urged the DPRK to live up to its commitment of taking part in the fourth round of six-party talks scheduled before the end of this month.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei met with visiting James Andrew Kelly, US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, on Monday and said that the two sides hoped to start the fourth round of six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula at an early date.

China has hosted three rounds of the six-party talks aimed at ending the nuclear confrontation between the DPRK and the United States.

Source: Xinhua