The U.S. State Department has issued a visa to a top North Korean diplomat who is planning to attend a nongovernmental regional security forum in California later this month.

According to a source in Washington, the North's deputy nuclear envoy Ri Gun was granted a U.S. visa and will attend the annual meeting of Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) to be held in San Diego on October 26th and the 27th.

The North Korean official is expected to visit New York after attending the meeting.

Hosted by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California, the multilateral forum brings together academics, diplomats, and military officials from all countries participating in the six-party denuclearization talks.

Ri attended a New York forum held by the U.S. National Committee on American Foreign Policy in November last year.

There is speculation that Ri and U.S. chief nuclear envoy Sung Kim may meet on the sidelines of the forum.

With Washington’s approval of Ri’s visit, bilateral interactions between the U.S. and the North are gaining steam.

U.S.-North Korea bilateral contact is expected to serve as a watershed in resolving the North Korean nuclear problem, as Pyongyang earlier expressed willingness to return to the six-party nuclear talks based on two-way talks with the U.S.