China’s top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei reportedly said during a recent trip to Japan that he will propose to the relevant parties the resumption of the six-party denuclearization talks.

Kyodo News says Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada made the confirmation after meeting with Wu on Tuesday.

Okada said, however, that Wu did not mention any details of such a proposal and instead said only that he wishes to hear the other parties’ opinions on the matter.

Also, on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s visit to China, Wu reportedly said that Pyongyang wants to return to political dialogue, adding that changes are needed to create an environment for the resumption of the multilateral talks.

Kyodo News noted that Okada was cautious in his response, saying that a resumption of the talks is premature. He said that it must not be forgotten that North Korea itself put the six-party talks on hold due to its nuclear tests and that Seoul has recently been the victim of the North’s sinking of a South Korean naval corvette.