Kerry to visit Korea, China from Feb 13-18

US Secretary of State John Kerry is to visit Korea, China and Indonesia on his next trip to Asia, the Department of State had said on Sunday.

The trip, from February 13-18, will be Kerry’s fifth trip to Asia in the past year. He will also make a stop in Abu Dhabi.

North Korea will be on the agenda during stops in Seoul and Beijing, while discussions in Jakarta will focus on climate change, security, democracy, regional integration and human rights, according to the official statement.

In Beijing, Kerry is to relay the message that the US “welcomes the rise of a peaceful and prosperous China that plays a positive role in world affairs,” the official statement said.

It was not clear if Kerry would also address the growing concern about tensions between China and Japan during his Beijing stop.

Kerry had on Friday met with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, where he underscored his commitment to Tokyo in the dispute with China over the East China Sea.

The Senkakus in the East China Sea are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. In 2013, China created an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) that raised tensions with Japan and South Korea.

“The United States neither recognises nor accepts China’s declared East China Sea ADIZ, and the United States has no intention of changing how we conduct operations in the region,” Kerry said.

Kishida vowed that Japan would respond “calmly and with resolve” to any attempts by China to change the status quo by “coercion or intimidation in Senkaku Islands and South China Sea.”