President Barack Obama arrived in South Korea Sunday morning, local time, for a three-day visit during which he’ll attend the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, meetings to focus on North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear programs.

He will also visit the Demilitarized Zone that divides North and South Korea and meet some of the 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea, The New York Times reported.

Obama’s visit demonstrates U.S. involvement in the region after North Korea announced it would launch a rocket to put a satellite into orbit next month to honor the 100th birthday of its founder, Kim Il-sung.

The launch would violate U.N. sanctions against the regime. According to The New York Times, the U.S. has condemned the plans and warned that the launch would breach a recent agreement to supply North Korea with food aid in return for preliminary talks over its nuclear program. 

National Security Council senior director for Asia, Daniel Russel, told USA Today that North Korea might choose to deepen their isolation and further strengthen the international sanctions that are constraining them. 

“That would be unfortunate, and we think that that would be a mistake that will only exacerbate the problems that North Korea faces and the suffering of the North Korean people,” Russel said. 

Obama will meet South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Sunday afternoon. Myung-bak is hosting more than 50 world leaders for the summit meeting. 

Before a joint news conference and dinner with Lee, reported The New York Times, Obama will meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the violence in Syria and the security in Iraq after the final withdrawal of American troops.

 

---------

 

Reach executive producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.