US state secretary arrives in South Korea

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived Friday in South Korea as Seoul called for talks to ease tensions in the Korean Peninsula amid growing concerns over North Korea's capability to launch nuclear-armed missiles. Kerry was to meet with South Korean President Park Geun Hye and Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se during his first visit as state secretary in Seoul, dpa reported. The meetings were expected to focus on Pyongyang's threats against Seoul and the United States, foreign ministry officials said. Seoul said it was open to holding talks with Pyongyang to calm the tensions which have been escalating since North Korea's third nuclear test in February. Park told ruling party lawmakers late Thursday that she intends to initiate a dialogue with North Korea, Ministry of Unification spokesman Kim Hyung Suk said.