The official, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Chosun Ilbo the South Korean government had briefed the U.S. only in general terms about the proposal Unification Minister Chung Dong-young recently made to North Korean leader Kim Yong-il. There had been no request to merge the two offers, he said.

He said it was too soon to say whether Seoul’s proposal was suitable for the framework of the six-nation negotiations since it came out of inter-Korean talks.

He also denied reports that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said there was "no problem" with the South Korean proposal. All Hill did was express interest, he said.

Meanwhile, President Roh Moo-hyun told the press on Thursday he was working within a comprehensively mandated range, and the proposal, once revealed and negotiated, would earn bipartisan support. Roh said the offer was being kept under wraps because it involved “strongly strategic elements.”

The unification minister put the proposal behind closed doors to Kim Jong-il during their June 17 meeting in Pyongyang. Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Hong Seok-hyun said the plan contained either multilateral security guarantees and economic aid, or systematic economic support, or plans to persuade the international community to aid the North. He said it could be seen as an outline of what support the North can expect if it gives up its nuclear arms program.

Government officials tout the proposal as a Korean "Marshall Plan" that includes regime security guarantees, support from each nation in the six-party talks including security guarantees, and energy and food aid. Other officials deny security guarantees are involved.

Roh said the proposal would only carry strategic significance if coordinated with the U.S.

(englishnews@chosun.com )