Beijing ? China said Thursday that six-nation talks on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program will resume next week, even as Pyongyang raised a possible obstacle to progress by renewing calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula.

China appealed to all sides to be “flexible and practical” in seeking a resolution to the long-running dispute.

The latest round of discussions involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia recessed on Aug. 7 after a failure to agree on a statement of principles despite 13 days of negotiations. The talks resume Tuesday and will be open-ended, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular news briefing.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday there was progress at the last session and “we are ready to stay as long as it takes to get this done.”