WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill will visit Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo Jan. 19-21 to discuss how to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.

North Korea, which carried out a nuclear test on Oct. 9, has so far refused to implement a September 2005 agreement under which it agreed to abandon its nuclear programs in return for the prospect of economic aid and security guarantees.

That pact was reached under six-party talks that include the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Hill's trip, which will include a visit to Seoul on Jan. 19, Beijing on Jan. 20 and Tokyo on Jan. 21, was designed to see how it might be possible to move forward.

"The purpose of those (talks), as you would expect, would be to continue our consultations with our key partners in the six-party talks on how we might achieve progress in the next round," Casey told reporters.

The spokesman said he had no information on when the six parties, which last held talks in December, might next meet.

"We would like to see it take place as soon as possible, but only if there is sufficient preparation for it and reason to believe that we can make progress," he said.

Hill's trip will include a visit to Berlin on Jan. 17, when he will deliver a speech on Asia-Pacific "regional security issues" at the American Academy in Berlin, Casey said, adding that the speech would touch on the six-party talks.

The spokesman said as far as he knew Hill had no plans to meet with North Korean officials during his trip and that Hill was expected to return to Washington on Jan. 21.

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