Obama Embarking On Tour To India, Indonesia, S.Korea, Japan

U.S. President Barack Obama is leaving Washington for a 10-day visit to Asia that is scheduled to include stops in India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan.

The first stop will be the Indian city of Mumbai, where Obama is expected to address security issues in the wake of the assault on Mumbai by Islamist militants two years ago that killed more than 160 people.

U.S. administration officials on November 4 called untrue reports in Indian media that the U.S. military planned to deploy 34 ships to the Indian coast, and that security for the U.S. delegation during Obama's visit would cost $200 million per day.

After a visit to the Indian capital New Delhi, Obama is expected to visit Indonesia, where he lived for four years as a boy, before traveling on to South Korea for a Group Of 20 summit, and to Japan to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.

compiled from agency reports