Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama will become the first sitting American president to visit the site of the U.S. atomic bomb attack in Hiroshima, Japan, the White House said Tuesday, a charged final-year stop meant to advance his goal of nuclear disarmament.

Added to the end of a late-May Asia swing, the visit fulfills a wish Obama expressed early in his presidency to visit the location where tens of thousands of Japanese civilians were killed in a nuclear blast at the end of World War II.

Weighing the visit, White House officials faced questions on whether Obama's presence would amount to an apology for using nuclear weapons, a move many historians consider essential to ending the war.

Soldiers and sailors on the USS Missouri watch as Japan's formal surrender is signed in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

Soldiers and sailors on the USS Missouri watch as Japan's formal surrender is signed in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

A woman and a child walk in Nagasaki on the day of the bombing. More than 70,000 people there were killed instantly.

A woman and a child walk in Nagasaki on the day of the bombing. More than 70,000 people there were killed instantly.

Survivors of the Nagasaki bomb walk through the destruction as fire rages in the background.

Survivors of the Nagasaki bomb walk through the destruction as fire rages in the background.

This photo was taken about six miles from the scene of the Nagasaki explosion. According to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, photographer Hiromichi Matsuda took this photograph 15 minutes after the attack.

This photo was taken about six miles from the scene of the Nagasaki explosion. According to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, photographer Hiromichi Matsuda took this photograph 15 minutes after the attack.

A worker stands next to an atomic bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," hours before it was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

A worker stands next to an atomic bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," hours before it was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

A white silhouette on a Hiroshima bridge shows an area that wasn't scorched by the bomb. It was reportedly the outline of a person's shadow -- someone who was shielded from the blast's heat rays by another person.

A white silhouette on a Hiroshima bridge shows an area that wasn't scorched by the bomb. It was reportedly the outline of a person's shadow -- someone who was shielded from the blast's heat rays by another person.

U.S. President Harry Truman, aboard a U.S. Navy cruiser, reads reports of the Hiroshima bombing. Eight days earlier, Truman had warned Japan that the country would be destroyed if it did not surrender unconditionally.

U.S. President Harry Truman, aboard a U.S. Navy cruiser, reads reports of the Hiroshima bombing. Eight days earlier, Truman had warned Japan that the country would be destroyed if it did not surrender unconditionally.

Air Force Col. Paul Tibbetts waves from the pilot's seat of the Enola Gay moments before takeoff on August 6, 1945. A short time later, the plane's crew dropped the first atomic bomb in combat, instantly killing 80,000 people in Hiroshima.

Air Force Col. Paul Tibbetts waves from the pilot's seat of the Enola Gay moments before takeoff on August 6, 1945. A short time later, the plane's crew dropped the first atomic bomb in combat, instantly killing 80,000 people in Hiroshima.

Trinity was the code name of the test bomb, which was detonated in the Jornada del Muerto desert.

Trinity was the code name of the test bomb, which was detonated in the Jornada del Muerto desert.

Workers in New Mexico attach a bomb to a tower two days before its successful test in July 1945.

Workers in New Mexico attach a bomb to a tower two days before its successful test in July 1945.

The Manhattan Project also involved research facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington. Billboards, like this one in Oak Ridge, reminded workers of the project's top-secret nature.

The Manhattan Project also involved research facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington. Billboards, like this one in Oak Ridge, reminded workers of the project's top-secret nature.

Los Alamos workers pose on a platform stacked with 100 tons of TNT. It was to be used to gauge radioactive fallout.

Los Alamos workers pose on a platform stacked with 100 tons of TNT. It was to be used to gauge radioactive fallout.

In 1942, U.S. Army Col. Leslie R. Groves, left, was appointed to head the Manhattan Project. On the right is physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

In 1942, U.S. Army Col. Leslie R. Groves, left, was appointed to head the Manhattan Project. On the right is physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

In 1939, physicists Albert Einstein, left, and Leo Szilard drafted a letter to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to research atomic bombs before the Germans could build one first. By 1942, the United States had approved the top-secret Manhattan Project to build a nuclear reactor and assemble an atomic bomb.

In 1939, physicists Albert Einstein, left, and Leo Szilard drafted a letter to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to research atomic bombs before the Germans could build one first. By 1942, the United States had approved the top-secret Manhattan Project to build a nuclear reactor and assemble an atomic bomb.

The United States detonates the world's first atomic bomb at a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Less than a month later, atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The devastation led to Japan's unconditional surrender and brought an end to World War II.

The United States detonates the world's first atomic bomb at a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Less than a month later, atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The devastation led to Japan's unconditional surrender and brought an end to World War II.

The White House has said the United States does not owe Japan a formal apology for using the atomic bomb in August 1945. Instead, officials say the visit will serve as a reminder the terrible destruction that nuclear weapons can inflict.

"He will not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II," Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, wrote on Medium Tuesday . "Instead, he will offer a forward-looking vision focused on our shared future."

The White House said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would accompany Obama on the stop, which comes after a meeting of the Group of 7 in Ise-Shima.

In Hiroshima, Obama will tour the Peace Memorial Park, constructed atop the busy commercial district obliterated by the bomb. Earlier this year, Secretary of State John Kerry became the highest-ranking U.S. official to pay respects at the site, and hinted that Obama would soon make his own visit.

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Obama and his aides have long debated making a presidential stop in either Hiroshima or Nagasaki , where the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb three days after the Hiroshima attack. In his previous three visits to Japan, officials decided against a visit, both for logistical reasons and to avoid fueling the perception of Obama as an apologist commander-in-chief.

On his first visit to Japan in 2009, Obama expressed a desire to stop in one of the cities before leaving office.

"The memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are etched in the minds of the world, and I would be honored to have the opportunity to visit those cities at some point during my presidency," he said.

But even in Tokyo, a visit by a U.S. president to the site of the nuclear destruction hasn't always been welcome. Ahead of Obama's first trip to Japan in 2009, a Japanese government official told then-Ambassador John Roos "it would be premature to include a visit to Hiroshima," recommending instead that Obama remain near the capital.

But as the United States and Japan have worked through other World War II-era grievances, a visit to the location became more tenable. At the same time, Obama has worked to advance efforts stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, an agenda that has particular resonance in the nations closest to North Korea, where missile tests continue to create unease among U.S. allies.

"The President and his team will make this visit knowing that the open recognition of history is essential to understanding our shared past, the forces that shape the world we live in today, and the future that we seek for our children and grandchildren," Rhodes wrote.