President Lee (left) and President Obama at a joint press conference in the U.S. on June 16

Visiting Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama had an in-depth one-on-one discussion on core issues on June 16 (Washington, DC time), and expressed agreement with each other''s thoughts at a joint press conference.

Throughout the meetings between Lee and Obama on Monday and Tuesday (June 15-16), the two leaders often backed each other''s comments by saying "I wholly agree," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said.

The joint press conference following the bilateral summit took place in the Rose Garden, which adjoins the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House.

In their opening statements, the two Presidents said they had concurred on many important regional and global issues, which included North Korea''s latest nuclear provocations.

President Lee said to reporters that he and President Obama had talked not only about the security of the Korean Peninsula, but also about their mutual vision for the future. Korea and the United States have successfully maintained a security alliance ever since they joined forces during the 1950-53 Korean War, he added.

Lee also said the two sides confirmed their position that North Korea''s nuclear provocation on the Korean Peninsula is not permissible under any circumstance, and that they will push ahead with the UN Security Council resolution 1874 so that all countries will join the efforts to stop North Korea from further such moves.

Korean President Lee went on to say that the two leaders had welcomed the latest working negotiation for the Korea-U.S. FTA and had promised to cooperate to advance the FTA negotiation process.

For his part, U.S. President Obama said that people of the Republic of Korea were dealing with the latest nuclear threat by the North Korea remarkably well, setting an example for other nations. He said he would do his best to keep the Korea-U.S. security alliance as strong as ever.

President Obama further said North Korea has a chance open ahead to embrace the coexistence and co prosperity pursued by the international community, which is possible only through peaceful dialogue and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Obama also said that the two leaders had promised to closely cooperate to prevent a recurrence of economic difficulties. The two leaders will also try hard to stop trade protectionism and to see sustainable economic development by offering more job opportunities to the people of both countries.

The two leaders promised in the statement to continue to cooperate on international issues, such as denuclearization, terrorism and peace-making.

By James Ro
Korea.net Staff Writer

* source : Korea.net