North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is reportedly planning a trip to Beijing, possibly next month.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun said China and North Korea had reach agreement on Kim's visit and that Beijing is awaiting a decision from Pyongyang on the date of the visit.

In Seoul, the Joong Ang Daily said the trip was proposed by Kim and arranged during top-level diplomatic exchanges between China and its communist neighbour in recent months, including a visit last month to Pyongyang by China's Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing.

The reports quoted a senior South Korean official as saying that Beijing has welcomed Kim's proposal and that the date of his visit has not yet been finalized.

A Foreign Ministry official declined to comment on the reports, saying that any announcement on a visit by the reclusive North Korean leader would come from Beijing or Pyongyang.

Kim's previous visit to China, his second trip there, was in 2001. Diplomats said that prior to that visit, which was only made public after it ended, extensive renovation work was done at the North Korean embassy in Beijing. Similar work is reportedly underway now.