Difficulties exist for the holding of the fourth round of the six-party talks before the end of September, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan in Beijing Thursday.

He voiced the hope at a regular press conference that all parties should make efforts to hold the new round of six-party talks before the end of September.

"Even if the new round could not be held before the end of September, it should be held at an early date," he said.

The six-party talks, aiming at resolving the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula, involve China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan and Russia.

The six parties agreed to meet again before the end of September during the third-round meeting this June.

(Xinhuan News Agency September 16, 2004)