NEW YORK -- A plan to send a United Nations special envoy to North Korea next month has been called off due to the isolated country's unwillingness to hold dialogue at this time, a source at the global body said Saturday.
A group of U.N. delegates led by Lynn Pascoe, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs, had planned to visit Pyongyang in early March but North Korea has rejected the offer, the source told Yonhap News Agency.
The appointment of the high-profile figure as special envoy to North Korea has been viewed as a sign that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is moving to take a greater role in dealing with Pyongyang's reported plans to test-fire a ballistic missile.
Intelligence officials said recently that North Korea is assembling its long-range Taepodong-2 missile, which is supposedly capable of reaching the western United States.
The move has worsened already frayed ties between the two Koreas.
The U.N. official said that he does not know why Pyongyang refused to accept the envoy but added that the missile test-firing might be one of the reasons.
Another source denied that the North rejected the envoy, saying the U.N. and Pyongyang are still having talks to decide the best time to dispatch the delegates.
This source added that the U.N. is reluctant to directly address the North Korean nuclear issue because the six-nation talks -- involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia -- are still in progress.
Pascoe will meanwhile manage other pertinent political and diplomatic issues involving Pyongyang, as well as humanitarian aid, he said.
Secretary-General Ban said in January he would send a high ranking official to the North to report on the situation there. (Yonhap)