China says North Korea has not closed its door on the six-party nuclear talks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan said in a regular briefing on Friday that North Korea is apparently not opposed to the multilateral nuclear dialogue.

Kong's statement came in response to a question on the results of the recent visit to Pyongyang by the head of the Communist Party's International Liaison Department, Wang Jiarui, and China's forecast for the possible resumption of the stalled six-party talks.

Kong said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's recent statement shows that the North is willing to return to the nuclear talks and that China is working hard to create the condition for the resumption of the negotiations.

In his talks with Wang, Kim reportedly said his country would be willing to return to the nuclear talks if conditions were met.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to China Igor Rogachyov said that he "sees light at the end of the tunnel" and that he believes Wang's visit had reaped significant results for multi-national efforts to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue.