Controversy is developing over evidence that a U.S. delegation secretly visited North Korea shortly before the long-range rocket launch of April 13th. The claim was made in a ‘Reset KBS’ video report released on You Tube by staff of the South Korean state broadcaster KBS on May 17th.

The piece reported that a Boeing-747 emanating from the U.S. territory of Guam registered with the U.S. Department of Defense entered South Korean airspace at 6:40AM on the morning of April 7th, and that Japanese air traffic controllers reported to their South Korean counterparts that the aircraft’s “destination is Pyongyang Sunan Airport.”

According to KBS Reset, because the aircraft was not known to the South Korean authorities, it caused considerable consternation. However, internationally there is greater interest in who was aboard it.

But when asked about the issue on Friday during a U.S. State Department briefing, departmental spokesperson Victoria Nuland rejected the question “Did any U.S. Government officials go to Pyongyang to visit prior to the satellite launch?” outright, saying “I have no comment on that report at all,” which has only added to the intrigue.

The report was released via You Tube because KBS journalists are currently on strike alongside those from fellow media organizations MBC, YTN, Yonhap News Agency and Kukmin Ilbo. They are demanding the resignation of company presidents deemed to be too close to the government of President Lee Myung Bak and an end to what they call “biased reporting.”