Source from Yonhap News

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By AsiaToday reporter Kim Ye-jin - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Pyongyang on Nov. 23 for a four-day stay, China's Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

However, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric denied the report stating that Ban does not have plans to visit North Korea next week, drawing attention to whether Ban's visit will be realized.

Xinhua News Agency made the claim Wednesday, quoting the North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The KCNA said Ban will visit Pyongyang by plane and will arrive at Sunan International Airport, but refused to tell whether he will take a flight of Air Koryo, the national flag carrier in North Korea. 

The KCNA said Ban's itinerary is now being confirmed, without giving more details.

Xinhua News Agency posted on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, that the North's state agency notified a Xinhua reporter of th news.

The Chinese news agency also reported that Ban's upcoming Pyongyang visit was also confirmed by another UN official residing in North Korea who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It would be Ban's first visit to the North and the third by a U.N. Secretary-General following Kurt Waldheim in 1979 and Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1993.

International attention is being drawn whether Ban will visit Pyongyang, especially because the U.N. chief is from South Korea.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Ban will not visit North Korea next week, citing a U.N. spokesperson's statement.

According to the statement released by the spokesperson's office, Ban will be in New York and then travel to Malta for the Commonwealth Summit. From there, he will travel to Paris for the U.N. summit on climate change.