U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has expressed concern about North Korea's nuclear program at talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in Washington.

Li was in Washington for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's funeral.

Powell's meeting with China's foreign minister was the first in a series of meetings before six-nation nuclear talks, which are expected to resume later this month.

After Powell's talks with Li on Friday, senior officials from the United States, Japan and South Korea are to convene in Washington for "informal consultations" on the North Korean nuclear question.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the meeting on Sunday and Monday "is to coordinate positions" for a six-party working group meeting before the main nuclear discussions.

The third round of six-party nuclear talks is scheduled to take place on June 23rd in Beijing. Two previous rounds ended without agreement in a dispute over North Korea's demand for compensation in return for dismantlement of its nuclear weapons program.