South and North Korea have agreed to actively use their respective diplomatic missions in New York as a means of contact to discuss important bilateral issues.

The agreement was reached at talks between South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and his North Korean counterpart, Paek Nam-sun, on the sidelines of the 11th round of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Jakarta on Thursday.

The two ministers agreed to consider plans to regularize a South-North Foreign Ministers meeting and to actively take part in international conferences to be hosted by both sides.

After their meeting, Ban and Paek issued a press statement, which said a peaceful resolution to North Korea's nuclear issue based on dialogue would not only lead to stability on the Korean Peninsula, but also actively contribute to development in inter-Korean relations.

In the statement, the two sides also agreed to cooperate in international arenas such as the United Nations and the ARF forum, and to further promote bilateral exchange and cooperation pursuant to the spirit of the June, 2000 South-North joint declaration.