BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The fourth round of the six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula will start in Beijing on July 26, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan announced here Tuesday.

    The decision to restart the six-party talks was made through consultations with all relevant parties, Kong said.

    The six-party talks involve China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and the United States.

    However, Kong did not disclose how long the new round of six-party talks would last.

    Since China started to mediate the nuclear dispute between the United States and the DPRK in 2003, China has hosted several rounds of China-DPRK-US talks and six-party talks in Beijing.

    The first six-party talks were launched on Aug. 27, 2003 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in downtown Beijing.

    But after the third round of the talks, the DPRK decided to suspend participation, claiming the US' policy of hostility.

    The DPRK announced to return to the six-party talks on July 9,after a meeting in Beijing between the top US and DPRK envoys to the talks. Enditem