S.Korea's President returns home from visit to China

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak returned home Wednesday from a state visit to China that included summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao over North Korea following the death of Kim Jong-il and a free trade deal between Seoul and Beijing, South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap) reported. During the three-day visit to Beijing, Lee and Hu agreed to work closely together to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula amid uncertainty surrounding North Korea. They also agreed to start the necessary domestic procedures to begin formal negotiations on forging a bilateral free trade agreement. Lee also held talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and they agreed to strengthen economic cooperation and set up a hotline between their foreign ministers. China is South Korea's largest trading partner and Lee forecast during the visit that two-way annual trade volume will reach US$300 billion by 2015, from just over $200 billion last year.