DUBAI -- U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon met with North Korea's ceremonial head of state in Tehran and expressed hope for improved relations between the two Koreas, his spokesman said Friday.

Ban's meeting with Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's ceremonial head of state and chief of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, took place Thursday on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement summit hosted by Iran, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement.

"With regard to inter-Korean relations, the Secretary-General said he hoped for an improvement in cross-border relations," the statement said. "An improvement in inter-Korean relations could also help the North improve ties with the United States."

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula in the past few years, especially after the North in 2010 launched two deadly attacks on the South that killed 50 South Koreans. Most recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ratcheted up hostile rhetoric against Seoul and Washington over the two-week joint military drill that ended earlier in the day.

Ban also voiced concerns about the humanitarian situation in the impoverished nation and emphasized the importance of maintaining "continued contacts" between the U.N. and the North.

"The secretary-general expressed concern about the food and nutrition situation in the DPRK, particularly following the long dry spell in the spring and the recent flooding," the statement said. The DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, noted the U.N. had provided approximately US$2 million in emergency humanitarian assistance through the Central Emergency Response Fund and accepted "sincere appreciation" from the North's official, the statement said.

The isolated communist state suffered a famine in the 1990s that killed hundreds of thousands, and ordinary people still suffer from chronic food shortage.

Earlier this year, Washington has offered to give 240,000 tons of food aid in return for a freeze on nuclear and missile tests, but the plan was scrapped following a failed attempt to launch a rocket in April.

(Yonhap News)