The six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program ended in Beijing without an agreement.

Host China called an end to the multilateral nuclear discussions after issuing a chairman's statement on Thursday evening.

The statement said that delegates from six nations agreed to hold the next round of talks "at an early date," but did not specify a detailed schedule.

Chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill left Beijing hours before China declared a formal end to the talks, citing an appointment in Washington.

Delegates hoped to work out a protocol verifying North Korea's past nuclear activities, but discussions stalled over a proposal to allow international inspectors to take samples of nuclear materials out of North Korea for testing.

The North rejected the proposal, arguing that it would infringe upon its sovereignty and undermine its security.

The six-party talks opened on Monday for a three-day run, but were extended into Thursday in an effort to clinch an agreement on nuclear verification. The talks included South and North Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.