A top U.S. State Department official on Friday visited the Gaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kathleen Stephens toured the facilities as the highest ranking American official to go there after receiving a briefing from the complex's management committee.

Meanwhile, the State Department said Saturday that Stephens visited the complex to better understand the facilities and operation of the complex during her trip to South Korea.

She also said the North's human rights situation led her to push for the visit.

Also on Friday, a dozen congressional aides visited the complex separately at the invitation of the Seoul-based Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.