A US envoy on Wednesday held talks with Seoul officials on easing tension on the Korean peninsula as Pyongyang urged an early end to confrontation over its deadly attack on a South Korean island.

Stephen Bosworth, the US special envoy on North Korea, met with south Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Wi Sung-lac, and foreign minister Kim Sung-Hwan, focusing on Pyongyang's nuclear programme and tension reduction.

Bosworth's visit came six weeks after the North shelled the frontier island of Yeonpyeong, killing four South Koreans, including two civilians, and sending tensions in the region to their highest level in years.

Details of the talks were not made public but a foreign ministry spokesman said earlier that Bosworth and the South Korean side would "assess the current situation regarding North Korea's nuclear development and future response".

Bosworth was also scheduled to meet with Unification Minister Hyun In-taek before heading to Beijing later Wednesday. He is expected in Tokyo on Thursday.

Upon arrival in Seoul Tuesday, Bosworth called for "serious negotiations" as a central strategy to deal with the communist state.

South Korean foreign minister, Kim Sung-Hwan, said Wednesday that any resumption in the six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme should be preceded by two-way talks between North and South.

The North has refused to discuss the nuclear issue directly with the South, saying it only wants to deal with Washington.

"The six-party talks are a useful framework for negotiation on the North's denuclearisation but in order to achieve tangible progress through the talks, the right atmosphere -- including bilateral talks -- should be created," Kim said.

"The government will continue pursuing both tracks -- dialogue and sanctions -- to press the North to prove its willingness for denuclearisation through actions," he said in a speech on the foreign ministry's new year policy.

Pyongyang's ruling communist party's official daily Rodong Sinmun said Wednesday that military tension on the Korean peninsula must come to an end "at the earliest possible date."

"Resolving political and military tensions are a prerequisite to improving inter-Korean relations and to pursuing national reconciliation and cooperation," it said in an editorial.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said that dialogue with the North should be constructive. "We don't just want to have talks for talks' sake," he said.

He said the United States wanted to see a reduction of tension between North and South, an end to North Korean provocation, and a seriousness of purpose with respect to its obligations under a 2005 agreement on denuclearisation.

"We did have a spike in tension towards the end of the year. We have noted that that tension has eased somewhat, but the underlying issues are still there," he said.

Cross-border tensions have been high since the North shelled Yeonpyeong island on November 23. The North also raised security fears that month by disclosing a uranium enrichment plant to visiting US experts.

After a difficult year on the Korean peninsula, 2011 started on a more peaceful note.

North Korea began the year with calls for improved relations with Seoul, while South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Monday also reached out, saying he was open to talks and offering closer economic ties.

Efforts to resume long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with the North have also gained momentum as Beijing urged dialogue and Pyongyang signalled it was willing to return to the negotiating table.