President Lee Myung-bak and US President Barack Obama agreed to push the 'grand bargain' strategy in dealing with North Korea at a bilateral summit held in Seoul on November 19.

President Obama made it clear that the US will provide economic aid and help North Korea join the international community if North Korea takes concrete and irreversible steps to fulfill its obligations and eliminate its nuclear program.

The two leaders praised the results of the G20 Summit held in Pittsburgh and promised to work together for the success of the G20 Summit slated for November 2010 in Korea. They also agreed to cooperate on international issues such as climate change, green growth, nuclear nonproliferation and counter-terrorism efforts.

"US President Obama and I expressed satisfaction over the fact that the Republic of Korea and the US are maintaining closer coordination than at any other time in dealing with North Korea and its nuclear programs. We have reconfirmed our unwavering commitment to a complete and verifiable dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear programs through the Six-Party Talks," President Lee said at a joint press conference with the US President following their summit.

Reiterating the economic and strategic significance of the Korea-US FTA, the two presidents agreed to work together to expedite the ratification of the agreement.

After the summit, President Obama had lunch with President Lee and visited the US Army base in Seoul.