(Updates with background)

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday said it welcomed the decision by North Korea to return to stalled six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear program.

"We welcome the announcement and look forward to resuming the talks soon," Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said.

His statement followed word from the Chinese Foreign Ministry that North Korea, the United States and China had agreed in an informal meeting in Beijing to resume talks at a time convenient for all six parties in the near future.

The other three countries involved in the talks, which broke off last November, are South Korea, Japan and Russia.

The U.N. Security Council voted on Oct. 14 to impose financial and arms sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its first nuclear test on Oct. 9.

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