South Korea on Monday raised the possibility of holding a bilateral meeting with North Korea on the sidelines of a regional security conference in Brunei early next week, a senior Seoul official said Monday.

The ASEAN Regional Forum, which will be hosted by Brunei on July 2, has traditionally brought together foreign ministers and key officials of all the countries participating in the six-way talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions. The multilateral forum involves the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun are expected to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum.

"Our basic stance is that there is no reason that the South and the North cannot meet (on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum,)" said the official at Seoul's foreign ministry.

In 2011, the foreign ministers from the two Koreas held a brief meeting at the regional security forum in Indonesia, following surprise talks there between their chief nuclear envoys.

After months of high tensions, triggered by the February nuclear test and bellicose threats against South Korea and the U.S., North Korea has appeared to shift to dialogue in recent weeks.

South Korea and the U.S. have stressed that North Korea must comply with the U.N. Security Council resolutions and abide by international obligations before any resumption of meaningful talks can take place.

The six-party talks aimed at persuading the North to give up its nuclear ambitions have been stalled since late 2008. The multilateral forum involved the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan. (Yonhap News)