A trade agreement was signed in 2007 by the two governments under previous leaders, but has not been ratified by Congress.
He is also welcoming South Korea’s return to helping US efforts in Afghanistan.
In addition, Obama also announced today that the United States has begun talking with allies about fresh punishment against Iran for defying efforts to halt its nuclear weapons pursuits. Obama’s tough talk came as Iran indicated it would not ship its low-enriched uranium to Russia for processing, the centerpiece of a deal aimed at a peaceful resolution to Iran’s contested nuclear program.
“They have been unable to get to yes, and so as a consequence, we have begun discussions with our international partners about the importance of having consequences,’’ Obama said. Obama did not get more specific about the nature of any new sanctions, which would require commitments of international support that are hardly clear yet.
On North Korea, both Obama and Lee signaled impatience and declared fresh, united steps in getting that nation to give up its own nuclear weapons.
Lee said Obama had rallied behind his idea for a onetime “grand bargain’’ with North Korea of aid and concessions in exchange for denuclearization, rather than the stalled step-by-step process. And Obama said his envoy would travel to the communist country early next month for the first bilateral talks with the regime since he took office.
Obama said yesterday that he met briefly with a half brother who lives in China and who recently wrote a semiautobiographical novel about the abusive Kenyan father they share.
Obama, who spent three days in China during his first official tour of Asia, acknowledged the meeting with Mark Ndesandjo in an interview with CNN, and an aide said later that the two met Monday night.
Lee, who is strongly pro-United States, took office in South Korea in early 2008, and relations between the countries have been improving. The tenure of President George W. Bush had seen anti-American sentiments become more common here.
