A South Korean delegation is leaving for Beijing Monday to attend working-level discussions on preparing for the third round of six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear standoff.

Upon its arrival in the Chinese capital, the delegation is scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with Chinese officials to be followed by similar talks with Russia on Tuesday. The delegation is also scheduled to take part in a trilateral meeting with officials from the U.S. and Japan Tuesday.

Meanwhile, it is unclear whether the two Koreas will be able to hold bilateral talks before the opening of the working-level negotiations.

The working group meeting comes two and a half months since the second round of six-party nuclear talks which ended in February without any progress.

South Korean officials say the lower-level nuclear talks will be carried out in a pragmatic manner with no fixed agenda and that participants will freely state their opinions.

The U.S. is expected to reiterate its call on Pyongyang to completely, verifiably and irreversibly dismantle its nuclear programs while the North is expected to urge compensation in return for "freezing" its nuclear weapons program.