The United States confirmed Wednesday that one of its senior diplomats will hold talks with top North Korean officials in Beijing this week to discuss the possible resumption of US food aid.

Robert King, US special envoy for North Korean human rights, was to meet in the Chinese capital on Thursday with the officials, including Ri Gun, head of North American affairs at North Korea's foreign ministry, the State Department said.

"This follows up on conversations we've had in the past about whether the United States will provide nutritional assistance to North Korea," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

North Korea's nutritional needs will be only one factor, she said, in determining whether to provide such assistance, which would include not just food but food supplements and vitamins.

"Were we to decide to go forward with this, we would need to have much more strict and clear monitoring systems in place" to ensure the assistance reaches those most in need, Nuland said.

King headed a team that visited the North in May to assess food needs. He said on his return that Pyongyang must address concerns about monitoring before any resumption.

The US-North Korean talks were reported earlier by South Korea's Yonhap news agency, which quoted a diplomatic source.

Yonhap said that if this week's meeting goes well, the two sides could this month hold a third round of bilateral talks aimed at reviving stalled six-nation negotiations on the North's nuclear disarmament.

The North quit the six-party forum in April 2009, one month before its second nuclear test.

It wants the six-nation talks to resume without preconditions and says its uranium enrichment program -- first disclosed one year ago -- can be discussed at the forum.

The United States however says the North must first show "seriousness of purpose" toward denuclearization by shutting down the program.

Glyn Davies, the US special representative on North Korea, suggested last week that more bilateral talks were upcoming.

"I hope at some point, in the not too distant future, we will have an opportunity to get back to the table with them," he said during a visit to South Korea.

Nuland said Davies is due to return to Washington after he holds another meeting or two in Beijing on Thursday. She added that besides Seoul and Beijing, he has also visited Tokyo on his recent tour.