SEOUL, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in South Korea on Sunday as part of his first trip to Asia, and is expected to talk with the South Korean side about issues related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Pence is scheduled to pay a visit to the Seoul National Cemetery and have dinner with combined forces of South Korea and the United States later in the day. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here.
His visit to South Korea followed the DPRK's failed test-launch of an unidentified missile earlier in the day.
The missile was fired from the DPRK's eastern coastal city of Sinpo, but it exploded during launch.
Tensions escalated on the Korean Peninsula as an U.S. aircraft carrier re-routed and headed to the peninsula, just after participating in the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises last month.
The rare re-routing of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships triggered concerns here about possible U.S. airstrike on DPRK targets.
The U.S. vice president is set to meet Monday with South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is serving as acting president following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.
Hwang and Pence are said to talk about the DPRK issues amid the growing tensions on the peninsula.
Pence is also scheduled to meet with South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and businessmen here, before leaving for Japan on Tuesday.
