Lee Soo-Hyuck said he would detail the South Korean plan at separate bilateral discussions with North Korean delegates on the eve of the six-party talks in the Chinese capital.

"We proposed a three-stage proposal for settlement during the first round of talks," he said, referring to negotiations that ended inconclusively in Beijing in August.

"We will present more details on the three-stage proposal during the second round," he told reporters.

South Korean officials confirmed the bilateral meeting took place at Diaoyutai State Guest House late Tuesday. But it was not immediately known how North Korean representatives reacted to the South Korean offer.

Lee, who held a final strategy session Monday in Seoul with his US and Japanese counterparts, said he would also present the positions of these two countries in the meeting with the North Korean delegation.

Talks, which also include China and Russia, are scheduled to start Wednesday in Beijing.

"We will make efforts to help these talks produce visible outcomes and so create a turning point in settling the North Korean nuclear issue," Lee said.

In the first phase of South Korea's proposal, North Korea is to declare it intends to abandon all nuclear weapons programs, while the other participants in the talks will promise to provide a security guarantee.

In the second phase, North Korea is to freeze its nuclear facilities and to return to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, accepting inspections by the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

South Korea, Russia and China will provide energy and heavy fuel oil in return.

In the third phase, North Korea will complete the elimination of its nuclear programs and the United States will give a written security guarantee to the isolated, impoverished country.

WAR.WIRE