Yasushi Akashi, a former United Nations undersecretary general, will make a four-day visit to North Korea beginning Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Thursday.
Akashi visited Nonaka earlier Thursday at the Prime Minister's Official Residence to detail his planned trip to Pyongyang, Nonaka said.
Akashi maintained a friendly relationship with the North Korean ambassador to the U.N. while at his post and received invitations to visit North Korea many times in the past, Akashi told Nonaka.
Although it is a very important time for opening a bilateral relationship, mounting problems still lie between the two nations, the top government spokesman said.
A suprapartisan parliamentary group headed by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama had to shelve its planned trip to North Korea, due to problems in working out details of the trip.
"Under such circumstances, it is very significant that Mr. Akashi, who was engaged in a wide range of duties at the United Nations, will visit North Korea and exchange opinions with North Korean officials," Nonaka said.
He added, however, that the government currently has no plan to entrust Akashi with a message to Pyongyang.