A senior US security official held talks here with Malaysian leaders on "proliferation issues and other foreign policy matters", the US embassy said in a statement.

Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton met with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail and foreign affairs and defence ministry officials, the statement said.

No details of the talks were released.

Bolton has been charged with coordinating the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) which is designed to stop nations, including Iran and North Korea, from spreading weapons of mass destruction.

Some 16 countries have signed up to the plan, which is expected to see new interdiction exercises at sea, at airports and on overland transit routes in coming months.

Bolton's talks in Malaysia, which has yet to sign up to the scheme, were due to focus on the PSI and other security issues, according to reports from Washington last week.

He arrived in Malaysia Sunday from Singapore and was leaving later today, an embassy spokesman said. - AFP