Obama likely to visit Seoul in November: report

SEOUL. August 14. KAZINFORM. U.S. President Barack Obama will likely visit South Korea in November ahead of his visit to Singapore to participate in the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, local media reported Friday, quoting diplomatic sources; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

According to South Korea's dailies and online reports, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs in a daily news briefing said that Obama will attend the APEC forum to be held in Singapore on Nov. 14 and 15.

    "The president expects to visit other countries during his trip to the region, and further announcements will be forthcoming when those plans are, indeed, finalized," the reports quoted Gibbs as saying.

    Although South Korea was not mentioned in his briefing, it is widely expected that Obama will make stopovers in South Korea, along with China, Japan and possibly Indonesia, the country where he spent his childhood, local media reported.

    If a meeting between Obama and his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak is held in Seoul, the two leaders are expected to develop their discussions on a "comprehensive package" to denuclearize the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which they talked over during Lee's visit to Washington in June, according to the reports; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version.