General Kim Yong-chol, North Korea';s former top spy, bound for New York City will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday.

Kim, the right-hand man of North Korea';s leader, will hold high-level talks as preparations for an historic June 12 nuclear summit in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un gather pace.

Pompeo';s spokeswoman said it would be the third meeting between Pompeo who opened contacts with the isolated Pyongyang regime when he was still CIA director and General Kim.

"We';re still finalising exactly what these meetings will look like," she said.

The North Korean envoy was at Beijing airport on Wednesday for his flight to New York, a day after arriving in the Chinese capital. 

Pompeo has travelled to Pyongyang, North Korea';s capital, twice in recent weeks for meetings with North Korea';s leader, and has said there is a "shared understanding" between the two sides about what they hope to achieve.

US officials familiar with the planning said Kim was scheduled to meet Pompeo on Thursday, The Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, Russia announced Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit North Korea on Thursday and hold talks with his counterpart about the situation on the Korean Peninsula.