The US special envoy for North Korean human rights has canceled a five-day trip to South Korea on Sunday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

Robert King, who had been scheduled to visit South Korea from Sunday to Thursday next week, abruptly canceled the visit without giving a reason, the report said, quoting multiple diplomatic sources.

King had been scheduled to meet with officials with the South Korean foreign ministry and other government agencies, including Lim Sung-nam, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, the US Department of State announced in a statement released Friday on its website.

King will go on to visit Tokyo on Friday next week, the statement said.

King had been expected to discuss with South Korean officials North Korean human rights issues and the issue of Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American man detained in North Korea, Yonhap reported, quoting an anonymous source.

The report said that the abrupt cancellation of King's visit might have something to do with Bae's detention.

Bae, who has been sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea for allegedly seeking to topple the North's regime, began serving his time in prison last week, AFP reported.

However, a South Korean government source told Yonhap that the change of visiting plans was merely because of "administrative reasons," ruling out speculation that it was linked to any policies.

"It's possible that the US committed an administrative mishap," the source was quoted by Yonhap as saying.

Global Times