Washington, Nov 17 (IANS): US President Donald Trump has hailed the Chinese government for sending an envoy to North Korea as a "big move" in the wake of his five-country trip to Asia.

In a tweet late Thursday, Trump appeared to suggest it could lead to developments in the nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula.

"China is sending an envoy and delegation to North Korea -- A big move, we'll see what happens!" Trump said.

The US leader just ended a five-nation of Asia, including a stop in Beijing, during which he called for greater diplomatic pressure to be put on North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme.

Song Tao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, was due to arrive in North Korea on Friday, CNN reported.

It will be the first ministerial-level visit since Politburo Standing Committee member Liu Yunshan visited Pyongyang and met Kim in October 2015.