Special UN envoy to visit Seoul before heading to DPRK: gov't

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- A special envoy of United Nations Secretary-General to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK) will pay a three-day visit to Seoul before heading to the DPRK, the government said Thursday.

U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs Lynn Pascoe will arrive in Seoul on Saturday and will meet with South Korea's top diplomat Yu Myung-hwan and Wi Sung-lac, the chief nuclear negotiator to the six-party talks over the DPRK's nuclear issues, the foreign ministry in Seoul said.

Pascoe's visit will mark the first visit by a high-ranking U.N. official since U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the country's former foreign minister, took office, according to the ministry.

The government hopes the visit will contribute to peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the ministry said.

After visiting Seoul, local media have reported Pascoe will go to China to fly to Pyongyang, where his trip is scheduled to end next Friday.