A Chinese expert on Korean affairs says, if North Korea refuses to return to the six-party nuclear talks, the other five countries can hold unofficial meetings.

Jin Canrong, the deputy dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University in Beijing, made the comment in an interview with China’s state-run English newspaper, the China Daily.

Jin said unofficial meetings among the five nations including South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia would be good to discuss North Korea's nuclear issues. However, he added that an official five-way meeting would be unadvisable as it could block Pyongyang’s return to the talks.

North Korea has earlier declared it would withdraw from the six-party talks when the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution against Pyongyang in the wake of its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.