South Korea and the United States on Monday discussed humanitarian aid to North Korea, the US nuclear envoy said after talks with his counterpart in Seoul amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's angry protest against military exercises between the South and the US Amb. Sung Kim also said the US does not have a hostile intent to the North, stressing that the ongoing South Korea-US military exercise is "purely defensive" in nature and renewing his offer to "meet with my North Korean counterparts anywhere, at anytime."

His talks with Seoul's chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, came amid renewed tensions with Pyongyang over the allied exercise, which the recalcitrant regime berated as the "most vivid expression of the US hostile policy" toward it.

"We discussed possible humanitarian assistance to the DPRK," Kim told reporters. "I reaffirmed US support for inter-Korean dialogue and engagement as stipulated by the joint statement between our two leaders in May, and will continue to lend our support to inter-Korean humanitarian cooperation projects."

DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The two sides discussed various areas of humanitarian cooperation with the North, including health care, quarantine against infectious diseases, drinking water and hygiene, according to Noh.

"We also discussed humanitarian support to the North through international organizations and nongovernmental organizations," Noh said.

The US envoy also reiterated the defensive nature of the allied exercise and urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue.

"The ongoing US-ROK combined military exercises are long standing, routine and purely defensive in nature and support the security of both of our countries," he said, referring to the South's official name, the Republic of Korea.

"I continue to stand ready to meet with my North Korean counterparts anywhere, at anytime," he added.

The two sides held their last in-person meeting in Seoul in June, during which Kim said Washington had offered to meet with Pyongyang "anywhere, anytime without preconditions" in a renewed overture for dialogue.  

After the talks, Kim will meet Igor Morgulov, who doubles as Russia's chief nuclear envoy. Kim is expected to call for Russia's full implementation of anti-Pyongyang sanctions and cooperation in resuming nuclear talks with the North.

Both Kim and Morgulov arrived in Seoul on Saturday.

Last month, cautious optimism emerged for inter-Korean cooperation as the two Koreas reactivated their communication lines some 13 months after the North severed them in anger over activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border into the North.

But the cross-border ties chilled again as the North has repeatedly castigated the South Korea-US exercise, warning of a "serious security crisis."

Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have remained stalemated since the Hanoi summit between then US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended without a deal in 2019. (Yonhap)