U.S. President Donald Trump paid his first official visit to Hawaii on Friday, where he received briefings at the U.S. Pacific Command and toured Pearl Harbor, ahead of a five-nation Asian tour starting Sunday in Japan.

Trump was briefed by Pacific Command top officers amid the rising threat posed by North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles capable of hitting the continental United States-- an issue that will be a major focus at his talks with Asian leaders during what will be his first trip to the region since taking office in January.

"I tell you this is very special being in Hawaii," Trump said as he greeted military officials at Pacific Command.

Referring to Trump's Asian trip, the command said, "The president's engagements will strengthen the international resolve to confront the North Korean threat and ensure the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Trump and his wife Melania paid homage to the dead at the memorial built above the sunken battleship USS Arizona. The pair tossed white flower petals into the waters at the memorial in honor of those who died at Pearl Harbor.

The Dec. 7, 1941, attack killed about 2,400 U.S. military personnel and civilians and sank a number of U.S. warships including the Arizona.

After arriving in Tokyo on Sunday, Trump is schedule to play a round of golf with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japanese pro golfer Hideki Matsuyama, ranked 4th in the world, at a course outside Tokyo that afternoon ahead of a formal meeting on Monday.

After visiting Japan, Trump will travel on to South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.