Obama to meet South Korea's Park Geun-hye in May

US President Barack Obama will meet South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Washington on 7 May amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The meeting will cover economic and security issues, officials say.

In recent weeks, the North has threatened to attack South Korea, Japan and US bases in the region.

The North has now said it will retaliate against the South after protesters there burned portraits of its leaders.

Tensions have been high on the Korean peninsula since North Korea conducted its third underground nuclear test on 12 February, which resulted in sanctions from the UN.

Talks between Mr Obama and Ms Park would touch on "continued co-operation on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and countering the North Korean threat," a statement from the White House on Monday said.

"They will also review the progress made in strengthening our economic ties and in enhancing and modernising bilateral security co-operation," the statement added.

Ms Park's scheduled talk with Mr Obama follows a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was in Seoul on 12 April as part of his tour of Asia.

She was elected in December and assumed office on 25 February.