Lee to make state visit to U.S. next month

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will visit the United States next month for summit talks with President Barack Obama about the two countries' alliance, economic cooperation and North Korea, the presidential office announced Wednesday.

Lee will be only the fifth head of state to make a state visit to the U.S. in the Obama administration after Germany, China, Mexico and India. That reflects the close alliance between Seoul and Washington and the personal friendship between their leaders.

The exact dates of the trip were not given, except that summit talks are scheduled for Oct. 13.

Lee and Obama will talk about strengthening economic cooperation, including their long-pending free trade agreement, ways to move their alliance forward and how to deal with the standoff over North Korea's nuclear programs, Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.

Lee will also attend a dinner reception to be hosted by Obama and a luncheon to be hosted jointly by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the statement said.

"The state visit to the U.S. will serve as an important opportunity for the Korea-U.S. relations to strengthen further as it will take place at a time when the relations are stronger than ever based on the trust and cooperation between the two leaders," the statement said.

The visit will come on the heels of Lee's trip to New York next week to attend this year's U.N. General Assembly.

There had been speculation that Lee's visit to Washington would be tied to progress in efforts to get the free trade agreement ratified in the legislatures of the two countries. But a presidential official said the upcoming visit would be made independently of whether the pact will be ratified or not.

"This visit is to strengthen the overall Korea-U.S. alliance, transcending the FTA," the official said on customary condition of anonymity.

The trade deal, first signed in 2007 and modified last year, is one of the most contentious issues in the South Korean parliament.

The ruling Grand National Party calls for an early ratification, while the main opposition Democratic Party claims the deal favors the U.S. and should be renegotiated.

The parties agreed early this month to handle the pact at the same pace as the U.S. Congress.