Christopher Hill, the US pointman on North Korea, will start an Asian tour on Monday in Japan amid a diplomatic drive after Pyongyang's nuclear test, officials said.
Hill will arrive in Tokyo later in the day and is expected to continue to South Korea where he will join US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a US embassy official said.
Hill, the chief US delegate in stalled six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear drive, will meet later on Monday with his Japanese counterpart Kenichiro Sasae, a Japanese foreign ministry official said.