South Korea on Monday denied a report that China proposed peace treaty talks between the United States and North Korea in exchange for a freeze of the North's nuclear weapons program.

Quoting a senior government official, the South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo reported that Beijing recently sought a deal with Washington under which the North would freeze its nuclear program and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on the condition that the U.S. sign a peace treaty with Pyongyang.

"The report is groundless," a Foreign Ministry official said, noting that Pyongyang has openly rejected all forms of talks on its denuclearization.

"North Korea has not only shown no intention to denuclearize by calling itself a responsible nuclear weapons state and a global nuclear power but made clear its determination to continue its byeongjin policy and develop nuclear weapons," the official said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's remarks during the ongoing Workers' Party congress in Pyongyang.

Byeongjin is Kim's signature policy of pursuing nuclear weapons and economic development in tandem.

China, North Korea's traditional ally, has backed punitive sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests earlier this year. But it has also called for a peace treaty between the U.S. and North Korea to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in an armistice.

South Korea and the U.S. firmly believe that any talks with the North should focus on the country's denuclearization, the official said, adding that Seoul and Beijing continue to hold close consultations on the North Korean nuclear issue. (Yonhap)