US Secretary of State’s visit to South Korea may cause another nuclear threat

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Seoul, about 48 kilometers from the demilitarized zone that separates North Korea and South Korea, on an unusual diplomatic journey amid growing concerns over North Korea's capability to launch nuclear-armed missiles.

Kerry was scheduled to meet with South Korean President Park Geun Hye and Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se during his first visit as state secretary in Seoul.

Kerry's trip coincides with the disclosure of a new U.S. intelligence report that concludes North Korea has advanced its nuclear know-how to the point that it could arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead. The Obama administration believes North Korea is preparing for another missile test, said a senior State Department official traveling with Kerry on the plane to Seoul. "We will show to our allies that we are prepared and we will defend them," the official said.

North Korea often times creates provocations to generate maximum attention, and Kerry's presence in Seoul will provide plenty of that. Another dangerous date on the calendar is April 15, the 101st birthday of North Korea's deceased founder, Kim Il Sung.
Kerry also plans to visit China and Japan. And it will be the first time the Obama administration engages with all three countries in the same trip. There, Kerry will try to convince leaders in Beijing that Pyongyang is "putting China's own interests at risk,” senior administration official said.

Although China is bound with the 1961 mutual defense agreement with North Korea, Beijing is growing more concerned about the North's provocations, but it also is closely watching Washington's latest military moves in the region.

Kerry will try to persuade China to cut off support for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program, said the State Department official and another senior administration official on terms of anonymity as they are not allowed to speak publicly about Kerry's meetings in advance, though they rejected that the U.S. was seeking a commercial embargo against the North.