Ban's press office said Pascoe, the UN under secretary general for political affairs, would visit North Korea from February 9 to 12 on the first leg of his east Asian tour.

The statement said Pascoe planned to hold wide-ranging talks on all issues of mutual interest with senior North Korean officials.

In September, Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean former foreign minister, conferred with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Park Gil Yon at UN headquarters here on North Korea's nuclear program as well as on humanitarian and human rights issues.

Earlier Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported that Pascoe and Kim Won-Soo, also a top aide of Ban, would both visit the Stalinist state with the main aim of resuming suspended high-level talks between the world body and Pyongyang.

It said the two UN envoys would discuss issues related to North Korea's nuclear weapons program and humanitarian aid.

The United Nations wanted to send envoys to Pyongyang early last year but North Korea rejected the offer, Yonhap said.

Pyongyang has been under growing international pressure to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks that the communist state has boycotted for nine months.

Tougher UN sanctions have been imposed on the North since its missile and nuclear tests last year.

The North's economy has been hit by the sanctions, which restricted its weapons exports. The nation has relied on foreign aid to feed its people since it suffered a devastating famine in the 1990s.

The United Nations could decide to ease or roll back the sanctions if there is substantial progress on the talks which group the two Koreas, the US, Russia, China and Japan.

But before rejoining the North has demanded an end to sanctions and talks on a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War.

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