KWAME HOLMAN: On his last day in Asia, Mr. Obama stood side by side with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, but much of their focus was on North Korea and its nuclear weapons program.

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Our message is clear. If North Korea is prepared to take concrete and irreversible steps to fulfill its obligations and eliminate its nuclear weapons program, the United States will support economic assistance and help promote its full integration into the community of nations. That opportunity and respect will not come with threats. North Korea must live up to its obligations.

KWAME HOLMAN: That statement echoed President Lee's offer of a grand bargain, aid for the communist North in return for giving up nuclear weapons.

LEE MYUNG-BAK, president, South...