President Lee arrives in Frankfurt after wrapping up trip to Berlin

FRANKFURT, Germany, May 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and first lady Kim Yoon-ok arrived in the German financial center of Frankfurt on Tuesday after wrapping up a visit to Berlin where he held summit talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.



The two-day visit to Frankfurt includes a roundtable meeting with major German firm CEOs, where Lee is expected to call for greater investment in South Korea under what is dubbed his trademark "sales diplomacy." The president is also scheduled for a meeting with South Korean residents here.
Germany is the first leg of Lee's three-nation European tour that will also take him to Denmark and France later this week. Expanding trade and investment between these nations is a key goal for the trip that comes ahead of the July implementation of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union.
In Berlin, North Korea and unification with the communist nation were also the major issues addressed by the president. After talks with Merkel on Monday, Lee said he would invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to next year's Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul if Pyongyang firmly commits to denuclearization.
On Sunday, Lee also said that unification with the North is a must that should be sought at any cost, stressing the importance of ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs that he said is an obstacle to unification.
jschang@yna.co.kr