China and North Korea have said the dispute between the North and the United States must be solved through dialogue.
The call for dialogue came as South Korea and the United States prepared to begin major military exercises in the region.
"The two sides both believe that the nuclear issue and crisis on the Korean peninsula must be solved through dialogue," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mr Zhang Qiyue said.
North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun, on his way to a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Kuala Lumpur, paid a surprise visit to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the four-month standoff.
North Korea has said repeatedly that it wants to solve the nuclear issue through dialogue, although it insists on bilateral talks with the United States. It has rejected taking part in a multilateral setting.
The call for face-to-face talks between Pyongyang and Washington has been rejected by the US government, which wants North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programme first.
The talks between Mr Paek and Mr Wang coincided with Pyongyang threatening to pull out of the armistice that ended the Korean War. This was widely seen as a response to the announcement yesterday of US-South Korea war games scheduled for next month.
The drive to end the stalemate took a step forward today with news that US Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit China "shortly".
PA