A top U.N. envoy will visit North Korea next week for talks with North Korean officials.

Secretary General of the United Nations for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe and North Korean officials will discuss a wide range of issues including the North’s nuclear program.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said reopening a high-level dialogue channel between the U.N. and the communist country will be extremely useful. Such high-level dialogue between the two sides hasn’t occurred since 2004.

Observers say that North Korea’s acceptance of the U.N. envoy’s visit is linked to its demand that U.N. sanctions be lifted before it returns to the six-way nuclear talks.

Pyongyang rejected a visit by Pascoe and his delegation last year.

Ban, who has expressed willingness to visit the North himself if invited, said that he has no current plans to do so.