REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SEOUL -- US Secretary of State John Kerry met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in her office on Monday to discuss the bilateral alliance amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Kerry, who arrived in Seoul Sunday afternoon after his stop in China, paid a courtesy call to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae where he and Park exchanged views over situations on the Korean Peninsula and the region.

The top US diplomat's visit came amid growing tensions on the peninsula after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on May 9 that it had successfully test-fired a submarine- launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

If confirmed, the SLBM would pose a "serious challenge" to the peninsula as well as the United States as it could mean the DPRK's submarine secretly sailing underwater and conducting a missile attack against the US mainland.

Kerry also met with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se to discuss the DPRK issue and preparations for an upcoming working visit of President Park to Washington that is scheduled for mid- June.

After the talks, Yun and Kerry plan to hold a joint press conference. Kerry will visit the US military base in Seoul and deliver a lecture on cyber security at Korea University later in the day.

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