Junta stalls on Ban request to see Suu Kyi

Suu Kyi's trial was adjourned earlier on Friday because of a clerical error by the court, according to her lawyer.

The stakes are high for Ban and the risk of failure great.

Halfway through a five-year term at the helm of the United Nations, he has faced criticism from detractors who say his low-key approach to the job does not work. He is eager to prove them wrong, U.N. diplomats say.

Speaking to reporters before the visit, Ban made clear he was under no illusions about how difficult it would be to persuade the military junta to free prisoners and take concrete steps towards democracy ahead of the elections.

"I'll do my best (but) I do not believe my visit should be a make-or-break event ... This will be a very difficult mission," he said.

Ban was due to meet representatives of "registered political parties" in Naypyidaw, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, mostly under house arrest at her lakeside home in Yangon. During her trial, she has been held in a guest house in the compound of the notorious Insein Prison in the former capital.

Her lawyer said her trial had been postponed until July 10, apparently because the Supreme Court did not send case files to the district court, where Suu Kyi appeared on Friday.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi expressed her surprise that this happened," lawyer Nyan Win told reporters.

The Nobel laureate, 64, was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to stay at her home in May, which prosecutors say breached a security law designed to thwart "subversive elements."