UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon promised Sunday to help improve inter-Korean ties after the North cut off official dialogue with Seoul's new conservative government in protest at its tougher line.

The UN chief made the pledge during a meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-Joong in Seoul on his first visit to his native country since taking office.

Ban responded to Kim's request for help in improving relations by saying he would try to "act as a facilitator" between the two nations, the minister's office said after the pair met at a Seoul hotel.

Ban said the timing of his visit was meaningful, coming amid progress in North Korea's nuclear disarmament process.

North Korea is disabling its nuclear programme under an international aid-for-disarmament deal.

In a symbolic gesture, it blew up the cooling tower at its plutonium-producing Yongbyon reactor late June.

"Making the best of this positive atmosphere, I hope the inter-Korean relations will make progress," Ban said.

North Korea suspended dialogue with Seoul after conservative leader Lee Myung-Bak took office in February, denouncing his policy of linking economic assistance to progress in its nuclear disarmament.

Ban has received a hero's welcome on his visit to South Korea, the third leg of a Asian tour following stops in Japan and China. He will leave Monday to attend the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido.