Kathleen Stephens, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday, a South Korean official said Tuesday.

Steephen, who would be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit DPRK since the nuclear dispute errupted in October 2002, has already received DPRK's invitation and will visit the inter-Korean industrial complex in DPRK's border city of Kaesong, a South Korean official told the Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.

"We came to push for her visit as she expressed her intention to go to the Kaesong complex," the official said.

However, the South Korean official didn't mention the purpose of Steephen's trip.

According to the official, another group of aids to U.S. Congressmen will also visit the Kaesong industrial complex on Friday separately.

The Kaesong joint industrial complex is a symbol of inter- Korean cooperation.

According to South Korean Unification Ministry, about 6,500 DPRK workers are working in South Korean companies in Kaesong and more than 350,000 DPRK labors are expected to be employed by 2012 when the complex is fully installed.

Source: Xinhua