South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se greeted his North Korean counterpart, Ri Su-yong, at a regional meeting here Wednesday, but received no response from Pyongyang's top diplomat.

Yun and Ri were both in Kuala Lumpur to attend the region's largest security gathering, the ASEAN Regional Forum, to be held on Thursday.

Speculation was rife that the two ministers would meet on the forum's sidelines, although few expected them to hold meaningful talks as inter-Korean tensions persist over the North's missile and nuclear weapons program.

The brief encounter took place at a gala dinner held for the ARF members' top diplomats at the Putra World Trade Center.

Before entering the dinner hall, the ministers took a group photo, dressed in bright, colorful shirts.

Yun and Ri stood at opposite ends, but after the photos were taken, the South's top diplomat approached his North Korean counterpart and extended his hand.

Ri shook Yun's hand but did not appear to say anything in response to the South Korean minister's greetings.

Yun told reporters after the dinner that he said, "Hello. It's good to see you again after last year." Ri, however, did not respond.

A similar scene played out at last year's ARF meeting in Myanmar as the two shook hands at the gala dinner, but did not hold talks.

Leaving the dinner hall Thursday, Ri was only a few steps behind Yun, but neither acknowledged the other's presence.

Yun left the building right away, while Ri entered a waiting room before emerging several minutes later to get into his car.

Responding to a reporter's question outside the room, a North Korean official, who accompanied Ri throughout the day but declined to give his title or name, said that a member of their delegation will hold a press conference on Thursday after the ARF meeting.

"We will be able to clearly state our position," he said, apparently referring to North Korea's repeated claim that its nuclear program is a deterrent against the United States' "hostile" policy toward it.

The ARF brings together all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 16 other countries and the EU, including the members to the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

In Cairo, meanwhile, a North Korean government delegation headed by the North's ceremonial leader, Kim Yong-nam, dismissed the possibility of talks with a South Korean delegation led by Maritime Minister Yoo Ki-june.

"You know the atmosphere at the moment," a North Korean diplomat and member of the delegation told Yonhap News Agency.

Both sides are scheduled to attend celebrations for the biggest expansion of the Suez Canal since its opening in 1869. (Yonhap)