China has proposed resuming the six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs on December 16th.

A diplomatic source in Seoul said Saturday that China made the proposal to the other five members of the talks the two Koreas, Russia, Japan, and the United States.

The source added however that Washington and Pyongyang have not yet responded.

On the condition of anonymity, the source said China is hoping that both Pyongyang and Washington will positively consider the idea.

Negotiators met in Beijing last week for a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings aimed at clarifying each other's intentions for the dialogues. But they failed to set a date for the resumption of the talks.

The U.S. and other members have repeatedly demanded that North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test on October 9th, take concrete steps toward nuclear dismantlement before the six-party talks reopen.