South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will pay a visit to the United States next week to hold a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss over cooperative ways to deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The South Korea-U.S. summit, scheduled to be held in Washington on June 16, will be aimed at reaffirming the two nations' determination to further strengthen the alliance and to closely cooperate on the DPRK's nuclear issues, South Korea's presidential office said in a press release on Tuesday.

After the summit, the two leaders will have a joint press conference and a state lunch, according to the press release.

President Lee is also scheduled to meet with high-level U.S. officials and business leaders with whom he is to talk about the ratification of a South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA).

President Lee's trip to the United States, first since the inauguration of President Obama, comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region as the DPRK conducted its second nuclear test on May 25 and South Korea joined a U.S.-led anti-proliferation campaign.

The White House earlier said the U.S. president was looking forward to "exploring ways in which the two countries can strengthen cooperation on the regional and global challenges of the 21st century."

Source: Xinhua