Officials from North and South Korea have held their first official talks for more than two years.

It's understood the discussions, which lasted less than two hours in a border village between both countries, were toset up ministerial-level talks which have been scheduled for Wednesday in Seoul.

"The overall atmosphere was... calm and the discussion proceeded with no major debates," the South's Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Seok told reporters after the morning session.

The agenda for next weeks meeting will focus on restoring suspended commercial links, including the Kaesong joint industrial complex that shut down in April as tensions between the rivals peaked.

The talks came about after an unexpected backtrack from North Korea who proposed opening a dialogue.

In a further signal of intent to co-operate, North Korea restored its official hotline with the South on Friday, which it had cut in March.

The two Koreas last held working talks in February 2011, and they have not met at the ministerial level since 2007.