S. Korean President Leaves for Washington

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak left for Washington on Tuesday for talks with US President Barack Obama as the Congress is set to endorse a long-pending free trade agreement with Seoul, a landmark deal expected to bring the two allies further closer together.With no thorny issues at hand between Seoul and Washington, Lee''s five-day state visit is expected to be largely a celebratory event centering on the trade pact that is sure to pass through Congress on the eve of Thursday''s summit talks after years of impasse following its signing in 2007, South Korea''s news agency (Yonhap) reported. Lee is also scheduled to address a joint session of Congress later Thursday, a rare event organized to mark the deal''s ratification. Lee will be the first South Korean leader to speak at a joint Congressional session in 13 years after a 1998 speech by late former President Kim Dae-jung.