G20 Financial Summit to Tackle World Economic Crisis

The Group of 20 financial summit opens today in London, where world leaders will discuss how to overcome the global economic crisis.

President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the heads of international organizations including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn will hold two summits.

They will discuss how to boost the global economy, strengthen financial regulations, and reform the IMF. At the meetings, the United States and European nations are expected to tangle over financial regulations.

Washington is urging all nations to make a concerted effort to boost the global economy, while Europe is emphasizing stronger financial regulations.

Other agenda items include efforts to prevent trade protectionism from spreading, strengthen regulations on tax havens, and support developing nations.

On the sidelines of the G20 summit, President Obama held a summit with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday and plans to hold separate talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu.

Around 3,000 police are scattered across London to deal with tens of thousands of demonstrators protesting the economic crisis, capitalism, environmental destruction and war.

President Lee held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. They agreed that North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile will violate U.N. Resolution 1718, a unanimous decision of the U.N. Security Council.

Seoul and Tokyo decided to jointly urge the international community to form a united front against the North.

President Lee also held talks with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The two leaders agreed that Pyongyang’s long-range missile program threatens peace and security in Northeast Asia.

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