Cheong Seong-chang, also with the Sejong Institute, said the decision to hold the April meeting "signals that the DPRK is determined to quickly wrap up the power transfer to Kim Jong-un".

He said the DPRK is also likely to schedule a meeting of its legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly, in early April.

On Monday, the ROK conducted live-fire military drills near its disputed sea boundary with the DPRK despite Pyongyang's threat to respond with a "merciless" attack.

The DPRK did not carry out the threat as it prepares for nuclear disarmament talks with the United States in Beijing later this week. However, with US forces scheduled to conduct additional military exercises with the ROK over the next few months, tensions are expected to remain high in the region.

China on Monday expressed hopes for a positive outcome from the upcoming talks.

"We welcome the DPRK and the US to hold their third high-level dialogue in Beijing, and hope the talks will pave the way for the resumption of the Six-Party Talks," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing.

A team of US officials led by US Special Representative for DPRK Policy Glyn Davies will meet a DPRK delegation led by its First Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan in Beijing on Thursday, according to the US State Department.

"China hopes to maintain contact and coordination with all parties involved to jointly promote the Six-Party Talks and contribute to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," Hong said.

The talks, which involve the DPRK, the ROK, the US, China, Japan and Russia, were launched in 2003, but were stalled in December 2008. The DPRK quit the talks in April 2009.

AFP-AP-Xinhua-China Daily