By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to visit South Korea around the middle of this month as part of her first regional trip, also taking her to China and Japan, officials here said Monday.
No final decisions on her travel itinerary has been made, but if she arrives in Seoul, she'll discuss a range of issues of mutual concern, including North Korea's nuclear program and South Korea's aid to Afghanistan, they added.
Deadlock over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program continues, with the communist state rejecting an offer by regional powers to establish a protocol to verify the North's nuclear materials and activities.
Tension has increased on the divided peninsula in recent weeks following North Korea's threat to take military action against South Korea, which experts view as a bid at drawing attention from the new U.S. government.