S Korea's Lee to visit Russia, attend G20 Cannes summit next week

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will visit Russia and France next week for talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and a G20 summit among the major developed and emerging economies, Lee's office said Monday. At a summit scheduled on Nov. 2 in Saint Petersburg, Lee and Medvedev are expected to discuss strengthening bilateral relations, economic cooperation and nuclear issues of the Democratic People' s Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to the office. The leaders are also scheduled to attend the second round of the Korea-Russia Dialogue (KRD), a forum focused on expanding cooperation between the two countries. The Russia trip, the president's third since taking office in 2008, is expected to involve the leaders' discussion on a proposed plan to build a gas pipeline that transports Russian gas through South Korea to the DPRK. On Nov. 3, Lee will leave for southern France to attend the G20 summit in Cannes, where he is expected to discuss with other leaders the Eurozone debt crisis, macroeconomic policy coordination and international monetary policy reforms. He is also to address a forum among business leaders on corporation roles in overcoming crises, according to the presidential office.