Vietnamese officials are to visit South Africa later this month for talks on what can be done to curb rhino poaching, environmental affairs said on Friday.

The visit would also focus on what could be done to curtail the illegal trade in rhino horn.

It follows trip to Vietnam by senior South African officials late last year, department spokesman Albi Modise said.

The meeting would probably take place late next week, he said.

It was prompted by concerns that criminal syndicates linked to the massive increase in rhino poaching in South Africa over the past two years had links with Vietnam.

Vietnamese residents were widely reported to be driving the demand for the horn, which is used -- in powdered form -- in various traditional medicines.

"Of concern is that a lot of arrests of poachers [in South Africa]... have been linked to [criminal] syndicates that have links to Vietnam," Modise said.

The aim of next week's meeting was to "arrive at some sort of mechanism" to address rhino poaching, he said.

Close to 300 rhino have been killed by poachers in South Africa so far this year.