Kerry in Seoul for NKorea talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in South Korea for talks on the escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Kerry is discussing the crisis with President Park Geun-hye and his South Korean counterpart as well as US military commanders in the country.

US officials have said he will use his Asian tour to urge China to use its influence to rein in Pyongyang.

Kerry's visit comes as a US report said the North could be capable of launching a nuclear-armed missile.

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, a declassified section of which was disclosed by a US Congressman, said there was "moderate" confidence that Pyongyang had developed the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile, though noted that its "reliability will be low".

The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says years of debate and diplomacy have been invested in preventing such an outcome.

While North Korea's angry rhetoric and threats have often been dismissed as bluster, proof that it had a deliverable nuclear weapon would present a much more significant strategic challenge, he adds.

However, the Pentagon has since said it would be "inaccurate" to suggest North Korea has fully developed and tested such weapons.

In a statement, it said the US continued to monitor the situation, and called on North Korea to "honour its international obligations".

Regional reassurance

Kerry's visit to South Korea begins his first trip to Asia since becoming secretary of state. On Saturday he will travel to Beijing and on Sunday, go on to Tokyo.

His tour comes as South Korea is on a high state of alert amid indications that the North is preparing for a missile test.

Pyongyang has moved two Musudan ballistic missiles to its east coast. Estimates of their range vary, but some suggest the missiles could travel 4,000km (2,500 miles).

That would put US bases on Guam within range, although it is not believed that the Musudan has been tested before.

Kerry's trip has been planned for several weeks but the rising tensions have given it a new sense of urgency, says our correspondent.

In Seoul, he will meet Ms Park at the presidential Blue House, before going on to meet his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se.

The BBC's Kim Ghattas, who is travelling with Kerry, says that US diplomacy is of limited use in dealing with North Korea itself, but that his visit is intended to reassure Washington's allies in Seoul and Tokyo about American support.

They will also go over preparations to deal with North Korea's expected missile launch and explore ways to move beyond the crisis, she adds.
US officials have said Kerry will use his time in Beijing to put pressure on China - Pyongyang's last remaining ally - to use its influence over North Korea to calm the tensions.

"Fundamentally we would want them to use some of that leverage because otherwise it is very destabilising and it threatens the whole region," an official told reporters on board Kerry's plane.

"China has a huge stake in stability and the continued North Korean pursuit of a nuclear armed missile capability is the enemy of stability. That gives us and the Chinese a very powerful objective in common, namely denuclearisation," the official said.

US President Barack Obama has urged Pyongyang to end its "belligerent approach... and to try to lower temperatures".

He has warned "the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its people".

China, meanwhile, has denied reports that it is deploying troops along the North Korean border.

A defence ministry official said Beijing was "paying close attention to the development of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and has always been committed to safeguarding peace and stability in Northeast Asia," the state Xinhua news agency reports.

North Korea has increased its warlike rhetoric following fresh UN sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February and joint military manoeuvres by the US and South Korea.

The North says it will restart a mothballed nuclear reactor, has shut an emergency military hotline to the South and has urged countries to withdraw diplomatic staff, saying it cannot now guarantee their safety.

However, in the past few days North Korea's media appear to be in more of a holiday mood, due to the approach of Monday's celebrations marking the birth of national founder Kim Il-sung - a potential launch date for a new missile test.

On Thursday, foreign ministers from the G8 group of nations condemned in the "strongest possible terms" North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.