WASHINGTON - A US special envoy for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea human rights issues will visit China, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan this month to discuss a range of issues, the State Department said on Tuesday.

As part of his regular consultations, Robert King will meet with senior officials from the governments as well as those from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and World Food Program in China, the department said in a statement.

It said King's visit runs from Aug 19 to 29.

US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf did not say whether King's visit is related to efforts to seek freedom for 45-year-old Kenneth Bae.

Bae is a Korean-American man who has been detained in the DPRK for the past nine months and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for "hostile acts" against the country in May.

King will begin his visit in China next Monday and then he will stay in the ROK from Aug 22 to 27 for meetings with government officials and members of civil society groups before flying to Japan on Aug 28.