China was unsuccessful in its recent attempt to persuade North Korea to return to the six-party nuclear talks.

A government source said that China’s top nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, urged the North to return to the multilateral talks while visiting Pyongyang last week.

However, North Korea wanted a bilateral meeting with the United States and turned down China’s support for denuclearization, claiming a U.S.-posed threat against the North.

Meanwhile, a South Korean official noted that Pyongyang’s recent peace gestures were unrelated to the essence of the North Korean nuclear issue.

The official went on to say that the resumption of the six-party talks may be difficult for a while unless Pyongyang shows changes.