Negotiators from North and South Korea held brief talks Friday aimed at restarting the six-nation negotiations over North Korea's nuclear activities.

Kim Sook

A spokesman for South Korea's foreign ministry says Kim Sook, Seoul's chief representative in the talks, held an hour-long meeting in Beijing with North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Kwan.

The six-nation negotiations, which also include China, Japan, Russia and the United States, have been stalled since last December, when Pyongyang failed to hand over a full documentation of its nuclear work.  North Korea has agreed to dismantle its main nuclear complex in exchange for promised diplomatic incentives and energy aid.

In a related development, North Korea accused Seoul of sending propaganda leaflets over the border.  In a message issued by its official news agency, Pyongyang warns that inter-Korean relations could deteriorate to a "catastrophic phase" if the leaflets are not stopped.

Both sides delivered propaganda messages over the border, by plane or balloons, in the decades following the 1950-53 war.  But the two sides agreed to end the activity in 2004 after making progress in their reconciliation efforts.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.