World(REUTERS) U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will visit Japan and Indonesia next month, sources said on Monday, as part of an Asian tour amid concerns the Trump administration is rolling back Barack Obama's "pivot to Asia". The tour will also include South Korea and Australia, the Nikkei Asian Review reported, with North Korea's missile and nuclear programs and South Korea's political crisis likely topics for discussion. The visit comes after North Korea's latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother added urgency to the region's security. It will also follow this month's trip by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Japan, South Korea, and China. Indonesia's chief security minister said Pence would meet President Joko Widodo to discuss terrorism and other security issues on his visit.

Source: Sunday Times March 13, 2017 08:49 UTC