This is Hill's second visit to the Chinese capital in a week's time following Japanese chief negotiator Kenichiro Sasae's arrival Sunday.

The visits come as members of the Six-Party Talks prepare for negotiations slated for next month.

According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Sasae's three-day visit to China will focus on Sino-Japanese relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The Japanese government source was quoted saying Vice-Foreign Minister and top negotiator Wu Dawei and the two visiting guests are scheduled to have a tripartite meeting today.

Reports said China has also invited Kim Kye-gwan, vice-foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to visit Beijing tomorrow. There is speculation that all four delegates will meet.

Analysts say the meeting is likely to settle an exact date for the resumption of talks.

It is said the meeting between the US and the DPRK, the two major parties, was agreed on by their UN representatives in New York after the two sides decided they needed to discuss the date and agenda of the talks.

Pyongyang prompted international condemnation by conducting a nuclear test on October 9.

Hill expressed optimism last Tuesday that the talks would possibly reopen by mid-December, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry was not able to confirm the comment on Thursday, saying the date for the next round of talks is pending.

China, the United States and the DPRK last met on October 31 in Beijing, during which the three sides reached an understanding on discussing and resolving the financial sanction issue through negotiations within the framework of the Six-Party Talks.