PYONGYANG -- US New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who is visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Monday canceled his flight to Beijing due to thick fog.

Richardson said he would made comment in Beijing, but disclosed nothing about his visit and talks with senior officials of the DPRK.

Related readings:  DPRK says 'not worth reacting' to ROK's drill  DPRK offers to allow UN inspections - CNN  DPRK warns against Seoul's shelling drill  DPRK criticizes US for sidestepping talks

Richardson arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday. The US governor said in a statement before his visit that he would travel as a private citizen at the invitation of Kim Kye Gwan, DPRK's first vice foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator.

He also said he would have talks with senior DPRK officials regarding the situation on the peninsula and said he hoped that the tension would be eased as early as possible.

It is the first time that a senior US official visited the country following the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, which killed two South Korean marines and two civilians.

Calling the visit private, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Wednesday that Richardson would not carry any particular message from the US government.

Richardson has visited the DPRK several times in the past years, most recently in 2007 to recover the remains of American servicemen killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Since he became governor in 2003, Richardson has met in New Mexico with DPRK diplomats three times.