U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice will arrive in Seoul Friday as President George W. Bush's special envoy to Korea.

Rice is expected to deliver to President Roh Moo-hyun a message from Bush stressing the historical importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and thanking Seoul for pushing ahead with its plan to send additional troops to Iraq despite the recent killing of a South Korean hostage in the war-torn nation.

During her stay in South Korea, the top security official is expected to exchange views on Washington's detailed proposal for resolving North Korea's nuclear issue and the U.S. plan to reconfigure its troop presence on the Korean Peninsula.

Rice's visit is drawing much attention as it comes after Roh recently underlined that progress in inter-Korean relations should be pursued in a balanced manner together with a strengthened South Korea-U.S. alliance.

The American official's visit to Seoul is the third leg of a three-nation Asian tour that took her to Japan and China earlier in the week.