Lee arrives in D.C. for official visit

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday arrived in Washington D.C. for a five-day official state visit during which he will hold summit talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Lee is the sixth South Korean president to make an official state visit to the U.S. The last to visit was former president Kim Dae-jung in 1998.

Upon arrival on Tuesday, Lee met Korean residents in the U.S. capital and asked them to exercise their voting rights in next year’s general and presidential elections.

On Wednesday, Lee is slated to hold a breakfast meeting with U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, during which he is expected to exchange views on the long-pending Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Lee is also scheduled to visit Arlington National Cemetery and the Korean War Veterans Memorial before a luncheon meeting with U.S. business leaders.

On Thursday, Lee will spend 13 hours with Obama starting with a welcoming ceremony followed by summit talks and a joint press conference at the White House.

The two leaders are expected to reaffirm the Korea-U.S. alliance and hold a strategic dialogue on North Korea, Northeast Asia and issues of global concern, a senior aide to Lee said.

“The two countries currently have no major differences on any issues we need to work on,” he told reporters.

Lee will then attend a luncheon jointly hosted by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after which the U.S. government is scheduled to announce its participation in the World Expo in Yeosu next year.

Lee will give a speech to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Thursday afternoon, a day after Congress is scheduled to ratify the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. The Korean parliamentary panel on foreign affairs, trade and unification is set to start discussing the FTA on Thursday, Seoul time.

Lee is slated to attend a state dinner hosted by Obama Thursday evening.

On Friday, Lee will hold a breakfast meeting with U.S. policy opinion leaders and an interview with U.S. media before heading to Detroit.

In Detroit, Lee and Obama plan to speak on the economic gains of the FTA at an auto plant, the White House said Monday.

Lee will then visit Chicago for a dinner meeting with the city’s business leaders.

The president is scheduled to meet with Korean residents in Chicago Saturday before heading back home. Lee will arrive in Seoul Sunday.

By Kim So-hyun, Korea Herald correspondent

(sophie@heraldcorp.com)