European Union official confirms that North Korea has invited its special representative for human rights to visit the country.

A visit by Stavros Lambrinidis would be a step toward resuming a human rights dialogue between the EU and North Korea, which broke off previous talks in 2003. A North Korean diplomat to the United Nations said earlier the invitation had been sent.

The EU official spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment. The EU has said Lambrinidis recently met with a Pyongyang representative.

In Brussels, EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said a team of experts from the union's diplomatic service had been scheduled to visit Pyongyang next week for meetings with authorities, but "new Ebola-related entry restrictions" enacted by the government have postponed it.