(Adds government comment and air strikes, paragraphs 7-9)

By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO, April 23 (Reuters) - Norwegian envoys trying to kick-start Sri Lankan peace talks canceled a planned trip to meet rebels in the north on Monday following unspecified security concerns.

Norwegian ambassador Hans Brattskar met the government's top peace negotiator on Friday and planned to travel to the de facto rebel capital of Kilinochchi on Monday to meet the guerrillas.

"The government forwarded a request not to go. Due to security concerns, the visit has been postponed," embassy spokesman Erik Nurnberg said.

It was not clear when the visit would happen, he added.

The last was in March and analysts said Brattskar's plans to travel to the Tamil Tiger-held town of Kilinochchi after meeting the government's negotiator had raised hopes of peace talks at a time when the fighting between rebels and government troops was escalating.

Nurnberg said on Friday that the visit to the north would be "routine", and declined to comment on prospects for talks.

Palitha Kohona, the president's advisor on the peace process, confirmed that the government had told the Norwegians not to make the trip to Kilinochchi "in view of current concerns". He declined to elaborate.

Meanwhile, air force jets bombed and destroyed a rebel naval base in the strife-torn north and a "Tiger gathering" in the east, the military said on Monday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties and the Tigers were not available for comment.

Since 1983, the war in Sri Lanka has killed 68,000 people including more than 4,000 civilians and combatants in the past 16 months of fighting.

The government of President Mahinda Rajapakse has vowed to destroy the rebels, while the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in March repeated their warning of a "bloodbath" if the international community failed to stop daily military attacks.

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