South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul will leave for Washington on Sunday on his first trip to the United States since taking office.

The Unification Ministry said Kim will make a seven-day trip to the United States from Sunday to Saturday to meet with senior officials of the U.S. government and Congress to discuss key issues between North and South Korea, and ways to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish peace in the region.

Kim plans to deliver a keynote address on Wednesday at the Korea Global Forum for Peace, an annual seminar his ministry has hosted in Washington.

In particular, the minister is expected to meet with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Biegun to discuss the fate of a long-suspended inter-Korean tour project in the North's Mount Geumgang resort. Biegun has recently been nominated deputy secretary of state, the number two job at the State Department.

During the U.S. trip, Kim also plans to give a lecture at the University of Southern California and meet American experts on Korea. He will also hold a meeting with Korean residents there.