Officers from each side are meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom.

Seoul has accused Pyongyang of torpedoing its warship, the Cheonan, in the Yellow Sea in March with the loss of 46 sailors, a charge it has denied.

Meanwhile, DPRK vice-minister for foreign affairs has insisted its nuclear weapons are for self-defence.

Pak Kil-yon told the UN General Assembly in New York that the warheads would not be abandoned as long as US aircraft-carriers "sailed around the seas" of the DPRK.

The US and the RoK have held a series of joint military exercises since the Cheonan incident, prompting the North to threaten to retaliate.

Before talks on September 30 in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the RoK defence ministry said the DPRK has wanted to discuss their disputed maritime borders and anti-North Korean leafletting by activists.

It responded by saying the agenda should also include the DPRK alleged responsibility for the sinking of the Cheonan, officials said.