A spokeswoman said Ban would arrive on Saturday for a four-day trip.

He will discuss his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer's trip to Pyongyang last week, during which Downer sought assurances that the Stalinist state will give up its nuclear weapons programmes.

Downer reported after the trip that North Korea had given a negative response to US offers of economic and diplomatic incentives to curb its nuclear ambitions.

Pyongyang also also gave no assurances it will attend a new round of six-nation talks seeking to solve the nuclear issue.

South Korea's energy needs will also be on the agenda.

Australia's Woodside last year signed a seven-year deal to supply Korea Gas Corp (Kogas) with 500,000 tonnes of liquified natural gas (LNG) a year from Australia's North West Shelf project.

The West Australian newspaper reported that Kogas, the world's largest single buyer of LNG, plans to invite bids for a 5.3 million tonnes a year contract, worth 23 billion dollars (16.33 billion US) over 20 years.

It said Woodside and another Australian group, the ChevronTexaco-led Gorgon consortium, were in the running for the contract.