President Lee Myung-bak held a pull-aside meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao during an Asia-Pacific economic summit in Russia on Saturday, expressing sympathy over recent deadly earthquakes in China, an official said.
The meeting took place in a VIP lounge where leaders mingled with each other before attending the forum's opening session. Hu first approached Lee, and they warmly embraced each other, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said.
During the five-minute meeting, Lee expressed sympathy over the back-to-back quakes that struck Yunnan in southwestern China on Friday, killing at least 80 people, injuring hundreds of people, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed thousands of houses.
"I am concerned about the earthquake in Yunnan and offer words of sympathy," Lee was quoted by his spokesman as telling Hu, adding that he also sent a telegram of sympathy to the Chinese leader earlier in the day. "I hope damage will be recovered at an early date. I extend sympathy to the Chinese people."
The Chinese president briefed Lee on the extent of the damage, telling him that 750,000 people have been displaced, the spokesman said. Hu also expressed his gratitude for Lee's concern, he said.
The meeting could be the last between Lee and Hu as both are scheduled to leave office within months. Lee's term ends in February and Hu is also scheduled to depart when a new generation of leaders are elected later this year.
Ahead of the opening session, Lee also shook hands and exchanged what seemed to be routine greetings with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The encounter came as tensions between the two countries have been running high as Japan protested Lee's unprecedented visit on Aug. 10 to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo, to which Tokyo also has laid claim.
The two briefly talked to each other, but no serious issues came up, the official said.
Officials said Lee has no plan to hold a formal bilateral summit with Noda. (Yonhap)