Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young said the plan showed the North was serious about giving up its nuclear weapons.

"North Korea has proposed a five-stage road map on nuclear dismantlement," Chung told reporters.

Under the plan, North Korea said it would halt any nuclear testing and stop any transfer of nuclear technology while shutting down production of additional nuclear weapons, Chung said.

North Korea said it would also allow outside inspections of nuclear facilities and dismantle its nuclear weapons before returning to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and accepting International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, he said.

But the South Korean minister declined to say what the communist state was demanding in return for its five-step disarmament plan.

Three days of six-nation talks ended in stalemate in Beijing on Friday ater North Korea raised new demands. The two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan pledged to push ahead with diplomatic efforts and resume talks soon.

At a previous round in September they issued a joint statement of principles in which North Korea promised to scrap its nuclear programs in exchange for energy assistance and other benefits.

But a day later Pyongyang insisted it would not dismantle its nuclear arsenal before the United States supplied it with a light-water atomic reactor to generate electricity.

The United States says North Korea must disarm first.

At last week's talks in Beijing North Korea raised a new obstacle, accusing Washington of breaching the September agreement by imposing sanctions on its firms.

Last month the US blacklisted eight North Korean firms allegedly involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Operations at a bank in Macau were also recently closed down for doing business with North Korean companies, after a US investigator raised concerns about counterfeiting and money laundering.

Kim Gye-Gwan, North Korea's chief delegate, said there would be no progress in negotiations on its nuclear program unless Washington lifted the sanctions.

Officials said North Korea and the United States would hold bilateral discussions on the sanctions issue before the talks resume, probably in January next year.

Chung said the sanctions dispute had nothing to do with the September statement, calling it "a difficult problem."

He added: "The United States and North Korea should find a solution through discussion between their experts."

Chung remained upbeat over the eventual elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, saying South Korea would play an active role in narrowing differences between North Korea and the United States.

"The fifth round proved we have to go a long way. However, it is also true that we are moving forward step by step," he said.

The latest nuclear crisis flared in October 2002 after the US accused North Korea of cheating on a 1994 disarmament accord by running a secret uranium-enrichment programme to make weapons.

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