A Chinese state-run research institute will hold an international seminar later this week to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons program, according to the Chinese institute and a diplomatic source on Monday.

Organized by the Chinese Institute of International Studies, the two-day seminar, starting Friday, will mark the 10th anniversary of a deal in which North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security assurances.

The agreement was announced on Sept. 19, 2005 after the six-party talks involving South Korea, North Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. However, follow-up negotiations on implementing the deal stalled because of North Korea's boycott of the talks.

The six-party talks have not been held since late 2008 and North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests so far.

An official at the Chinese institute confirmed that the seminar will be held on Friday, but declined to give details.

North Korea is unlikely to send its chief nuclear envoy, Ri Yong-ho, to this week's seminar, the diplomatic source in Beijing said on the condition of anonymity.

South Korea has no plans to dispatch a government delegation to the event, officials in Seoul said.

It is a "civilian seminar" hosted by a Chinese think tank and South Korean scholars and experts will largely attend it, a Foreign Ministry official said.

"On the government's part, Kim Gunn, director general for North Korean nuclear affairs at the Foreign Ministry, plans to participate in the forum in his personal capacity," he added.

Kim is Seoul's deputy chief delegate to the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program.

It remains unclear whether the U.S., Russia and Japan will send their government officials to the seminar, according to the source.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said earlier this month that North Korea has continued to expand its nuclear capabilities, citing satellite images of the North's main nuclear complex. (Yonhap)