Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, currently visiting China, said Thursday that Seoul is considering resuming the stalled six-party talks in what he called a "two-track" format.

Chung told reporters in Shanghai that during talks with Chinese experts on the Korean Peninsula the previous day, a proposal had been made to convene talks among scholars and civilian experts over North Korea's nuclear issue, separately from the formal six-party negotiations among government officials.

Chung said although there was ongoing speculation in the United States over the possible collapse of North Korea, the Seoul government disagreed with that view. The minister strongly asserted that South Korea would address the nuclear issue from its own point of view and not that of the United States.