Ms. Hyon Song-wol, head of a hugely popular girl band in North Korea

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said North Korea didn’t explain why it was “suspending” the two-day visit by the seven-member advance team that it proposed just hours earlier through a cross-border communication channel.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the visit, which was to begin on Saturday, was permanently cancelled or postponed. The ministry said it will try to gather further information from the North regarding the decision.