Seoul: French President Francois Hollande visited South Korea on Wednesday, looking to bring Seoul fully on board as a "very useful" ally in securing a global climate change deal in Paris next month.
It was the first visit by a French head of state to Asia's fourth largest economy for 15 years and coincided with the 130th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Hollande, who flew into Seoul late Tuesday after a visit to China, was travelling with a delegation of corporate heads and a clutch of senior ministers.
In Beijing, China and France reached what Hollande described as a "historic" agreement that the international deal on tackling climate change to be negotiated in Paris should include checks on compliance.
The November 30-December 11 conference, to be attended by at least 80 world leaders, seeks a single global agreement, with the goal of capping warming at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
In Seoul, Hollande was looking to ensure South Korea was ready to play the role of facilitator in getting the agreement signed.
South Korea hosts the Green Climate Fund -- the global fund created to spearhead climate change financing -- and is seen as a key go-between in negotiations on whether developed or developing countries should bear more of the burden for reducing emissions.
AFP
