UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will start this weekend a 14-day trip to four East Asian countries -- China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam -- which will deal with issues ranging from bird flu to UN reform, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

In Beijing, his first stop, the secretary-general is expected to meet with President Hu Jintao and other senior officials, the spokesman told reporters. Annan also plans to have a question and answer session with students at Beijing University.

From Beijing, the UN leader will travel to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, where he has meetings planned with President Roh Moo-hyun as well as the minister of foreign affairs and trade.

The next stop is Tokyo where, in addition to meetings with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the country's foreign minister, he will meet with a parliamentary group on UN reform. He also has an audience scheduled with Emperor Akihito.

Annan then goes to Hong Kong, where he will address the opening of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial conference.

His last stop is Vietnam, his first visit to that country as secretary-general. Among his meetings with Vietnamese leaders is a consultation with the chair of the National Steering committee on Avian Influenza.

Source: Xinhua