BEIJING, May 13 (AP) -- A Japanese envoy began talks Friday with Chinese officials aimed at easing tensions over a series of simmering disputes and at finding a solution to the North Korean nuclear standoff.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi was holding two days of meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Dai Bingguo, Japanese Embassy spokesman Ide Keiji said.

The two sides were likely to discuss anti-Japanese demonstrations in China, Japan's bid for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat and North Korea's nuclear program, according to a diplomatic source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled since last June.

On Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Tokyo was considering five-party talks among just China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States if the North continues to boycott the negotiations.

Ties between Asia's two most powerful countries plummeted in April following violent anti-Japanese protests in China over Tokyo's handling of its wartime atrocities and its Security Council ambitions.

Chinese police let protesters throw rocks and break windows at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and a consulate in Shanghai.

Beijing initially rejected a Japanese demand for compensation and an apology for the damage but earlier this week promised to fix the buildings.

Tokyo and Beijing are also locked in disagreements over territorial issues, sea resources and interpretations of Japan's militarist past.

Calls Friday to the Chinese Foreign Ministry press office went unanswered.