The United States and China have vowed to exert joint efforts for the early resumption of a fresh round of six-nation talks on settling North Korea's nuclear issue.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing in Washington Thursday and sought ways to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table at the earliest date following the North's boycott of the scheduled fourth round of nuclear discussions.

Speaking to reporters after talks with Powell, Li called for greater patience and vision in reviving the talks.

The two senior officials also said that their countries are ready to negotiate with the North at any time, adding that the U.S. and China do not believe the six-party talks are currently deadlocked.

The fourth round was scheduled to be held in September but North Korea refused to participate up to Thursday, the last day of the month, blaming both U.S. "hostile" policy and secret nuclear experiments in South Korea.