Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev says the fourth round of six-way nuclear talks is unlikely to be held at the end of this month as previously scheduled.

Alexeyev made the remarks Tuesday in Moscow after meeting with South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck.

In a statement after their meeting, Alexeyev and Lee said that Seoul and Moscow would nonetheless step up efforts to resume the multilateral discussions.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan called on the participants of the six-nation talks to exercise patience and flexibility in opening a new round of discussions, citing the obstacles in the way of efforts to hold the talks by the end of this month.

In Washington, a senior Bush Administration official said North Korea has already informed China that it will not come to the negotiating table this month, and will opt to resume talks after the November presidential election in the United States.