A South Korean request for a visit by President Barack Obama is complicating Japan's effort to welcome the American leader as a state guest in late April, according to sources.
Tokyo has proposed that Obama visit from April 20 to 23 for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will visit the United States from Friday to discuss the proposal with Secretary of State John Kerry, said the sources.
But South Korea's own appeal poses a problem for Washington, which must weigh the matter in the context of ongoing tension between its two Asian allies over a territorial dispute and perceptions of wartime history.