The United States says it believes that if Chinese officials hold a high-level meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, they will stress to the North that the only way forward is through the six-party nuclear talks.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley made the remarks during a regular news briefing Tuesday.

Crowley, however, said the U.S. has received no information from Beijing that Kim is visiting China.

The spokesman also said that the U.S. assumes South Korea's probe into the “Cheonan” case will be completed before the North makes a decision about whether to return to the nuclear talks.