SEOUL -- South Korean and United States officials held talks Saturday over a compromise deal being prepared by Seoul in a bid to end the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a report said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-shik met Deputy U.S. Ambassador Evans Revere after a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to discuss the possible compromise solution, the local MBC television network reported.

Lee returned to Seoul from Beijing on Friday where he obtained a pledge from Chinese counterparts to help resolve the crisis "peacefully through dialogue".

It is thought that Lee would have used the meeting to convey China's position on the standoff, AFP reported.

Aides to South Korean President-Elect Roh Moo-hyun revealed Friday that he was preparing a compromise deal which he hopes can bring an end to the standoff between Washington and Pyongyang.

The crisis was sparked by North Korea's decision to reactivate a nuclear complex which had been mothballed since a 1994 agreement with the U.S. Roh formally takes over as president in February but his transitional team is working closely with the outgoing government of his political mentor President Kim Dae-jung.

The NBC meeting was convened to hammer out the government's position ahead of talks with the U.S. and Japan in Washington early next week on policy toward North Korea.

"We discussed what has been going on so far, especially the views held by South Korea and the United States on the situation, as the direction for resolving the nuclear issue is emerging," a senior government source said. "We also discussed how to share the information we have gained through the contacts that we have had with China and Russia with the United States and Japan."

South Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Hang-kyung is in Moscow for talks with Russian officials over the crisis.