Obama to meet Lee MB one-on-one in London: White House

(ATTN: ADDS NSC spokesman's remarks in paras 5-6)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a
bilateral meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on the margins of the
G20 economic summit in London next week, the White House said Wednesday.
"On Thursday, April 2nd, President Obama will meet with Indian Prime Minister
Singh, in addition to the president of the Republic of Korea, Lee," spokesman
Robert Gibbs said in a daily news briefing.
Among other leaders Obama will meet one-on-one in London are British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev, Gibbs said.
The summit between Lee and Obama is the first of its kind since Obama came into
office in January. Lee took office in February last year.
"They will discuss strategies for responding to the global financial crisis and
promoting domestic demand," said Benjamin Chang, deputy spokesman for the
National Security Council. "They plan to confer on North Korea to ensure close
coordination, assess progress and challenges in the U.S.-ROK Alliance, and share
ideas on development of clean energy to address our common environmental
concerns."
ROK is South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.
Earlier in the day, Lee's office in Seoul announced the planned summit meeting,
saying they "will discuss ways to develop the relationship between the two
countries and issues related to the Korean Peninsula, such as the Korea-U.S.
alliance and North Korea."
The summit comes amid growing protectionism in the U.S., which has delayed
congressional ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and escalating
tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's threat to orbit a satellite,
seen by South Korea and the U.S. as a cover for a ballistic missile test.
Obama and other senior U.S. officials have taken issue with restricted shipments
of U.S. beef and an imbalance in auto trade, calling for adjustments in those
issues before submitting the trade deal, the biggest for the U.S. in over a
decade.
South Korea has said it would not renegotiate the deal, although some U.S.
officials and experts are proposing creative measures to address the issues
without revising the agreement itself.
Lee and Obama are also likely to reaffirm their pledge to join forces to resolve
the North Korean nuclear issue through the six-party talks and persuade the North
not to launch a missile or satellite.
Obama placed a call to Lee last month to bolster their commitment to dismantle
North Korea's nuclear weapons through the six-party talks.
"The presidents also discussed North Korea and agreed to work closely as allies
and through the six-party talks to achieve the verifiable elimination of North
Korea's nuclear weapons and programs," Gibbs said at that time.
During the phone call, Obama "conveyed his deep commitment to the United
States-Republic of Korea alliance," and "discussed the current financial crisis
and agreed to work together, including at the G-20 Summit in London, to stabilize
the global economy, to spur growth, and to get credit markets flowing," the
spokesman said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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