President Obama visits Asia with North Korea high on the agenda

Obama's April 23-29 tour includes visits to Japan and South Korea

 Barack Obama will make four stops on his tour of Asia in a bid to pin down support for US in the region. 

US President Barack Obama is due to arrive in Japan on the first leg of a four-nation Asia tour designed to underline Washington's security and economic commitment to the region.

And even though he will not be setting foot in China on this trip, the increasingly militarily and geopolitically aggressive regime in Beijing will be in the forefront of the mind of the president and the regional leaders that he meets.

The visit, which will include visits to South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, is also an effort to reassure Washington's allies that the "strategic pivot" to the Asia-Pacific region is proceeding as planned.

The trip "is the latest manifestation of the president's firm commitment to his policy of Asia-Pacific rebalancing," Evan Medeiros, an advisor to the president on Asian affairs, told reporters in Washington on Monday.

"The United States is all in when it comes to the Asia-Pacific, and we’re there for the long haul," he added. "This is a result of a calculation of our economic and our security interests.

"It’s not a geopolitical fad, it’s not a political expediency; it’s about protecting American economic interests, security interests, and continuing to build our people-to-people ties that we've had for many decades in the Asia Pacific."

For Japan, the most critical issue is reconfirming the security alliance at a time when China is making vigorous claims to sovereignty over the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, which Beijing knows as the Diaoyu archipelago.

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, told a delegation of visiting US politicians on Monday that he hoped his meeting with Mr Obama on Thursday would lead to an even stronger alliance with the US.

The Japanese leader will have been encouraged by comments by Ben Rhodes, the deputy US national security adviser, who reiterated Washington's commitment to Tokyo by stating, "There should be no question that the United States will always honour its obligations to the defence of Japan."

The behaviour of North Korea will be the focus of the president's discussions when he arrives in Seoul, with analysts suggesting that Pyongyang is making preparations to carry out what would be its fourth underground nuclear test.

April 27 marks the 61st anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted the combat in the Korean War, but left an uneasy peace on the peninsula that remains to this day. North Korea has threatened to carry out a "new kind" of nuclear test - analysts believe it may be the regime's first plutonium-basaed device - and could very well be keen to time it to coincide with President Obama's visit.

White House officials have condemned the North's threats and say they merely demonstrate a lack of willingness to participate in negotiations to reduce tensions in the region. 

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