Story highlights Feltman is visiting as the US and South Korea conduct military exercises

North Korea test-fired a long-range missile last week

(CNN) A senior United Nations official arrived in North Korea Tuesday for the first visit of its kind in six years, as US and South Korean military drills inflame tensions in the region.

Jeffrey Feltman, the UN's undersecretary-general for Political Affairs, will meet with officials and discuss "issues of mutual interest and concern," the UN announced.

The visit comes just days after North Korea tested an advanced, long-range ballistic missile.

The last senior UN official to visit North Korea was Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos in October 2011, according to the UN . The last time an undersecretary-general for Political Affairs visited the country was in February 2010.

UN Undersecretary- General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman arrives at Beijing's international airport on Tuesday, on his way to North Korea.

A former American diplomat, Feltman is now a key adviser to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on global peace and security issues. He spent nearly 30 years at the US State Department prior to joining the UN in 2012.

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