Senior North Korean reportedly heading to US

South Korean media say a senior North Korean official is heading to the United States, potentially to participate in preparatory negotiations to set up a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

South Korea's Yonhap news said Tuesday it saw the name of Kim Yong Chol on the passengers' list for a flight Tuesday from Beijing to Washington. They later reported that Kim changed his flight to go to New York on Wednesday, but it wasn't clear why. Kim was seen in the Beijing airport Tuesday by Associated Press Television.

The South Korean presidential office couldn't confirm the report.

Kim Yong Chol is a former military intelligence chief and now a vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party's central committee tasked with inter-Korean relations.