President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak next week, Obama's spokesman announced Monday, CNN reported.
Robert Gibbs told the daily White House briefing that the June 16 meeting would focus on how the United States and South Korea can strengthen cooperation on international and regional issues. He said Obama invited Lee to visit at the G-20 summit in April.
The meeting comes amid rising tension with North Korea, which recently has conducted a nuclear test, fired test rockets and threatened U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters. On Monday, two American journalists arrested in North Korea were convicted of spying and sentenced to 12 years in prison.