The top diplomats of North Korea and Singapore held talks in Pyongyang on Thursday ahead of the highly anticipated summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, the North's state media reported.

"Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan exchanged in-depth views on further developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries with a long history and tradition in various fields and on the situation ahead of the DPRK-US summit," the Korean Central News Agency said Friday.

DPRK is the abbreviation for the North's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Balakrishnan arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday for a two-day stay. His trip to the North is seen as an effort to fine-tune with North Korean officials details on security and protocol arrangements for the summit that is to be held in Singapore on Tuesday.

The KCNA did not provide details on the Ri-Balakrishnan meeting but said that the talks "proceeded in a warm and friendly atmosphere." Balakrishnan is also expected to meet Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's nominal head of state. (Yonhap)