HONOLULU (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama greeted each other Saturday at a welcoming dinner the American president hosted for Lee and other leaders gathered in Hawaii for a summit of Asia-Pacific economies.
The brief photo session, where Obama posed for pictures with each of the 21 visiting leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies, drew attention as it came amid a standoff in South Korea's parliament over the free trade agreement with the U.S.
Opposition parties have been demanding that Seoul renegotiate with Washington to revise a dispute-settlement clause that they claim favors the U.S. South Korea's government has said it is out of the question to seek renegotiation.
The pact, which was first signed in 2007 and then modified last year, won final approval from the U.S. Congress during Lee's state visit to Washington last month. The two countries hope that the deal will go into effect as of Jan. 1.
Photos showed Lee and Obama greeting each other with handshakes and broad smiles and posing for cameras, along with their first ladies Kim Yoon-ok and Michelle Obama. In some pictures, however, the two leaders appeared to be whispering to each other, a scene that could arouse speculation that they might be talking about the trade pact.
But South Korean officials flatly rejected the speculation as nonsense, saying such discussion cannot take place during a brief photo session or a welcoming dinner with other leaders. Officials said they have no plan to seek renegotiation of the trade deal already ratified by the U.S.