U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday hailed an agreement to bring the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) back to the six-party talks on its nuclear program.

"I am pleased and I want to thank the Chinese," Bush told reporters at the White House after meeting with Andrew Natsios, his special envoy on Sudan.

"It's clear the North Koreans got the message from the Chinese and everybody else," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

Bush make the remarks soon after a source from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the six-party talks on the Korean peninsular will be held soon.

As proposed by China, the heads of delegation to the six-party talks from China, the DPRK and the United States had an informal meeting in Beijing Tuesday, said the source.

"The three parties agreed that the six-party talks be held soon at a time convenient to the six parties," the source said.

The source said the three parties had a "candid" and "in-depth" exchange of views on continuing efforts to advance the process of the six-party talks.

"We welcome the announcement and look forward to resuming the talks soon," said U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

The six-party talks, which involve the United States, the DPRK, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, have been stalled since November last year when the last round of talks were held in Beijing.

The United States has urged the DPRK to return to the six-party talks although the DPRK conducted a nuclear test on Oct. 9.

Source: Xinhua