President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a summit on Tuesday night to discuss pending bilateral issues, including North Korea's nuclear program.

The two leaders are expected to adopt a “future vision declaration” that reaffirms the U.S. provision of extended nuclear deterrence for Seoul.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lee met with top officials in the U.S., including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

During Lee’s meeting with Clinton, the two agreed to seek cooperation between the two countries and China, Japan and Russia in order to resolve the nuclear standoff in North Korea.

Gates reassured Lee of Washington's stance that it will provide extended deterrence for Seoul in an emergency.

In meetings with other officials, Lee underlined the importance of the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement and urged the U.S. trade representative’s efforts for the swift ratification of the deal.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told Lee that Obama sincerely hopes the two nations can come to an agreement on the trade pact.

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