BEIJING (AFP) -- The top nuclear envoys from the United States and North Korea have met in Beijing to discuss when to restart full six-party talks on Pyongang's atomic program, China's foreign ministry said.

"The heads of the delegations from China, the United States and North Korea are holding meetings today in Beijing," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters. "These meetings include bilateral meetings and three-way meetings."

She said the meetings between North Korea's Kim Kye-Gwan, Christopher Hill from the United States and China's Wu Dawei were taking place on Tuesday, and had not yet finished.

Jiang said no-date had yet been set for a resumption of the six-party talks on North Korea's program, which have stalled for over a year, as that was the focus of Tuesday's negotiations.

"As far as a date for the next round of six-party talks, right now the sides are having consultations," she said.

Kim had flown into Beijing earlier Tuesday, while Hill arrived late Monday, as a diplomatic flurry got underway to kickstart the six-nation talks.

The nuclear envoys from Japan and South Korea had also gathered in Beijing, leaving Russia the only member of the six-party talks not to have its representative in the Chinese capital this week.

Jiang said Wu also met separately with Japanese envoy Kenichiro Sasae and South Korean negotiator Chun Yung-Woo late Monday.

The six-nation forum process was launched in 2003 to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions, but broke down a year ago when Pyongyang walked out in protest at US financial sanctions against it.

Resumption of the talks took on a new urgency after North Korea conducted its first nuclear test on October 9, which triggered international condemnation and United Nations sanctions.

Following a day of secret meetings in Beijing between Kim, Hill and Wu on October 31, North Korea agreed to return to the six-party forum but no date for the talks was set.