Presidential Spokesperson Lee Dong-kwan made the following remarks in a briefing this afternoon.

President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok are scheduled to visit China August 8-9 to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. President Lee will be the first Korean President to attend the opening ceremony of an Olympics held overseas.

Notably, President Lee will hold a summit with President Hu Jintao during his visit. The Korea-China summit has been arranged at the invitation of China. The last one was held just two months ago in May when President Lee visited the country, which is a symbol of the upgraded Korea-China relationship to a strategic, cooperative partnership.

In addition, President Lee will engage in resource diplomacy by holding summits with leaders of resource-rich countries, including Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Algeria.

On August 9, President Lee will make a visit to the Beijing Olympic Village and training centers to wish the Korean team the best of luck and deliver remarks of encouragement to the athletes. As his schedule permits, he will also watch some events in which Korean athletes are competing.