Yonhap news agency quotes unidentified sources Saturday as saying that North Korea's vice foreign minister, Kim Kye Kwan, will visit the west coast U.S. city of San Francisco Thursday for a lecture at Stanford University.

He will then head to New York for a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.

Neither North Korean nor U.S. officials have confirmed the report.

North Korea agreed earlier this month to close its main nuclear facility in Yongbyong and allow atomic energy inspectors in the country within 60 days in exchange for energy aid.

On Friday, International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Mohamed ElBaradei said he was invited by North Korea to discuss the shutdown of its nuclear program, and would likely travel to Pyongyang in March.

The visit would begin preparations for the return of international inspectors to North Korea for the first time in more than four years. - VOA News