President Barack Obama is due to visit the demilitarised zone (DMZ) on South Korea's border with the North on Sunday, March 24 before a nuclear summit in Seoul, BBC News reported.
The United States president's trip to the area separating the north and south on the Korean peninsula comes amidst increased tension over Pyongyang's plan to launch a rocket next month.
His visit will be a show of support for South Korea, said the White House. There are currently about 28,500 US soldiers stationed in the area.
North and South Korea technically remain at war because their three-year conflict ended in an armistice in 1953 and no peace treaty was signed. The US has since stationed troops in South Korea.
The 4km(2.5-mile)-wide DMZ is probably the most heavily guarded border area in the world. Former US President Bill Clinton described it as ''the scariest place on earth'' when he visited in the 1990s.
Mr Obama, who is expected to renew pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions, will also meet South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak ahead of the summit starting on Monday. The three-day Nuclear Security Summit involves more than 53 leaders from nations and international organisations.
Mr Obama is also due to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and is widely expected to urge him to draw on Beijing's influence for nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang.
North Korea's announcement last week that it will launch a rocket carrying a satellite to mark its late leader Kim Il-sung's birth centenary in April drew widespread criticism.
South Korea said the launch would be a "grave provocation" and Japan urged the North to "exercise restraint". Japan, particularly concerned as the 2009 rocket was launched over the country, said the move would ''interfere with our effort toward a dialogue''. The US has said that the planned launch could violate the agreement and affect the resumption of food aid.
