Lee arrives in Washington to attend Group of 20 summit

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Washington on Friday to attend the Group of 20 financial summit to be hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday to discuss cooperative measures over the global financial crisis.

Lee is expected to ask the Group of 20 leaders to fight protectionism in trade
and investment and call for the expansion of currency swap deals between advanced
and emerging economies and other worldwide cooperative measures to stem the
spread of the U.S.-originated financial crisis.
Shortly after his arrival here, Lee met with a group of foreign and security
policy advisers to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama under the auspices of the
Brookings Institution.
Obama's advisers detailed the next U.S. administration's foreign and security
policies, including those for the Korean Peninsula, before listening to President
Lee's explanation of his foreign policy directives.
Lee and Obama's advisers also exchanged views on pending North Korea issues, the
long-overdue ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement and realignment
of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea. Meanwhile, the South Korean president
asked for Obama's support for his policy to denuclearize and open North Korea and
raise its per capita income to US$3,000.
Following his three-day trip to Washington, D.C., Lee will make an official visit
to Brazil from Nov. 17-20 and a state visit to Peru from Nov. 20-21 before
attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in the Peruvian
capital of Lima from Nov. 22-23, according to presidential aides.
ycm@yna.co.kr
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