Chinas PM to Visit N. Korea Oct. 4-6

China's Premier Wen Jiabao will visit North Korea for two days from Oct. 4, AFP reported Monday, quoting Yonhap News Agency.

The broadcaster announced that Wen will make "an official friendly visit" at the invitation of the party and government.

The visit comes amid increasing efforts to bring the North back to six-party nuclear disarmament talks that it quit in April.

The forum hosted by China also includes the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States. The North said it was abandoning the forum in protest at the United Nations' decision to censure its long-range rocket launch on April 5.

Pyongyang, which conducted its second atomic weapons test in May, is seeking direct talks with Washington to end the nuclear standoff.

Washington says it is prepared to talk directly with the North but only to bring it back to the six-nation talks.