North Korea has proposed high-level talks with the US aimed at discussing nuclear weapons programmes and easing of tension on the peninsula, state media said.

"We propose high-level talks between the North and the US to secure peace and stability in the region and ease tension on the Korean peninsula," the North's powerful National Defense Commission said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

The North is willing to have "serious discussions on a wide range of issues, including the US goal to achieve the world free of nuclear arsenal", it said, urging the US to set the time and venue for the talks.