A source close to U.S.-North Korea relations quoted North Korean officials as having said that the six-party nuclear talks are completely over and the North has no plans to return to the talks.

According to Japan's Kyodo News, the source says North Korean foreign ministry officials made the remark in a meeting with U.S. experts, including Stanford University Professor Emeritus John Lewis, who visited Pyongyang late last month.

But the source said the communist state did not reject the possibility of taking part in multilateral talks other than the six-party dialogue.

The North's return to the six-way talks will likely be determined after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his visit to Pyongyang, which begins on Sunday.