Australia has stopped diplomats of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) from visiting Australia this weekend after the country's third underground nuclear test Tuesday, Foreign Minister Bob Carr confirmed at a Senate hearing on Thursday.

According to the schedule, these officials will visit Canberra to try and secure real estate to re-establish an embassy.

"We postponed the arrival of North Korean diplomats in Australia as a gesture following this detonation," Carr said Thursday.

But Carr also said that Australia government still intends to allow North Korea to reopen its mission, which was closed in January 2008, apparently because of financial pressures.

"We still adhere to the view that there's value in having a North Korean diplomatic presence here," he said. "In particular so we can speak directly about these concerns for peace and security and stability in East Asia and second, so we can convey to them directly our concern about human rights in North Korea."