A senior US envoy is due to arrive in North Korea on Friday to request the release of a US man jailed in the communist state.
Robert King, the US special envoy for North Korean rights, is expected to ask for the release of Kenneth Bae, 45, on humanitarian grounds.
Mr Bae, a Korean-American, was given 15 years' hard labour in May for trying to overthrow the North Korean government.
Mr King is expected to spend two days in Pyongyang.
"We have not been told that anything is definite," the US envoy said as he stopped over in Tokyo on Wednesday. "We are going to make an appeal."
He said Mr Bae "has health problems and we are hopeful that we are going to be able to make progress on that".
Kenneth Bae's family say he is seriously ill and has been moved from a labour camp to a hospital. They say he has diabetes and an enlarged heart.
- Eddie Jun Yong-su: Businessman detained for six months in 2011, freed after a visit led by US envoy Robert King
- Aijalon Mahli Gomes: Teacher and Christian jailed in 2010 for eight years over illegal entry via China - freed after Jimmy Carter visited Pyongyang
- Robert Park: US activist crossed into North Korea via China in late 2009 - freed in 2010 by North Korea
- Laura Ling/Euna Lee: Jailed in 2009 for 12 years over illegal entry via the Chinese border - freed after Bill Clinton met Kim Jong-il
The White House says it is "deeply concerned" about his health and welfare.
Mr Bae (known in North Korea as Pae Jun-ho) was arrested in November 2012 as he entered the north-eastern port city of Rason, a special economic zone near North Korea's border with China.
He has been described as both a tour operator and Christian missionary. North Korea said he used his tourism business to form groups to overthrow the government.
Mr Bae's trial and conviction came at a time of high tension between the US and North Korea, in the wake of the communist state's third nuclear test.
It also came as the US and South Korea conducted annual large-scale military exercises, which angered Pyongyang.
There is speculation that Mr King's visit could kick-start new contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul.
North Korea has arrested several US citizens in recent years, including journalists and Christians accused of proselytising.
They were released after visits to Pyongyang by high-profile officials, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
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