The South Korean minister handling inter-Korean affairs will visit the United States early next month on a mission to publicize Seoul's preparations for the reunification of the two Koreas, an official in Seoul said Tuesday.

Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae is scheduled to make a weeklong trip to Washington and New York starting Dec. 8, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"He is pushing for meetings with officials at the White House, the State Department and Congress to brief them on the South Korean government's reunification vision and preparations for that and discuss policy on North Korea," the official said.

But the official would not elaborate, saying specific schedules have yet to be decided.

An informed source said Ryoo also plans to attend the Korea Global Forum, hosted by the East Asia Institute, in Washington.

The minister is seeking to arrange meetings with Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Advisor Susan Rice, added the source.

Ryoo will then have a meeting with Korean residents in New York to explain the Park Geun-hye administration's reunification efforts.

It will be the first trip to the U.S. by South Korea's unification minister since 2011, when Ryoo's predecessor, Yu Woo-ik, visited there.

At that time, Yu met with then-Deputy Secretary of State William Burns. He was initially supposed to meet then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but it was canceled due to her personal schedule. (Yonhap)