China has appointed its ambassador to Hungary as the new deputy envoy to the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.

Xiao Qian, the Chinese ambassador to Hungary, is set to succeed Xu Bu, the Chinese deputy envoy to the long-stalled six-nation talks, who has been named as China's ambassador to Indonesia, the source said on the condition of anonymity.

The replacement comes as numerous diplomatic efforts to resume the nuclear talks with North Korea have produced little results.

Xiao, a career diplomat who had worked in India, the United States and the Philippines, has served no positions in either South Korea or North Korea.

The six-party talks, involving South Korea, North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been dormant since late 2008.

Last month, North Korea, which has conducted three nuclear tests, raised tensions by claiming to have successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a submarine underwater and made significant progress in miniaturizing nuclear bombs. (Yonhap)