U.S. president arrives in Seoul for two-day visit

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Seoul on Tuesday to launch his two-day official visit to South Korea.

U.S. President George W. Bush (L) and  first lady Laura Bush arrive at a military  airport in Seongnam, south of Seoul  August 5, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

 

Bush and his wife Laura Bush were greeted by South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan at the Seoul Airport, a military airport in the southern suburb of Seoul, with a brief welcoming ceremony.

According to South Korea's Presidential Office, Bush is expected to have a summit meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Wednesday morning.

Following the summit, the two leaders are scheduled to hold a joint news conference in Seoul.

Bush is also set to visit a U.S. military base in South Korea before leaving for Thailand Wednesday afternoon, the Presidential Office said.

It was the third official visit by Bush to the country. Bush conducted official visits to the Northeast Asian country separately in 2002 and 2005.

U.S. President George W. Bush (3rd R) walks with South  Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Yu Myung-Hwan  through a military honor cordon after Bush arrived at  a military airport in Seongnam outside Seoul August 5, 2008  to start a three-nation tour of Asia.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

 

Bush and Lee are expected to talk about the U.S. beef import issue, which triggered two-month-long protests in Seoul, the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula and the latest territorial dispute over islets between Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said.

Civic activists against U.S. beef imports vowed to stage candlelight rally Tuesday evening in Seoul. Organizers expected about 1,000 people will participate in the gathering, local media reported.

In case of potential anti-U.S. rallies, the South Korean National Police Agency deployed a force of about 7,000 along Bush's movement routes, with about 16,000 riot police on stand-by to control anti-American demonstrators, officials said.