U.N. chief to visit North Korea in January

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is planning to visit North Korea and meet with its National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il next January, diplomatic sources said Thursday. He will be the third administrative chief of the world organization to travel there after Kurt Waldheim in 1979 and Boutros Boutros-Gali in 1993.

Sources at the United Nations reported that Pyongyang has recently expressed its readiness to welcome the secretary general to North Korea as Anan had shown a strong desire to visit the country.

The year 2001 marks the tenth anniversary of two Koreas¡¯ simultaneous admission into the United Nations. The secretary general's East Asian tour will also include South Korea, Japan and China.