As South Koreans wait for U.S. President Barack Obama's first visit to Seoul, so do major thorny issues between the two nations, such as the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s denuclearization.

Obama, who is currently on his tour of Asia, is set to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday evening and return back home on the next day, wrapping up his trip.

During his stay in Seoul, which is to last less than 24 hours, Obama will meet with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak for a summit in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties and to find ways to break through various regional and global issues.

DPRK'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

The nuclear issue tops the agenda of Obama-Lee's summit.

The two sides are expected to pay attention to the DPRK's abandonment of nuclear program as well, continuing their dialogue in June.

While they share views on ways to realize Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament, the South Korean president expects Obama to give his government's support on the grand bargain proposal, President Lee proposed in September, which calls on the DPRK to abandon its nuclear programs "in a single step," in return for security, diplomatic and economic incentives.

"As the two leaders have already held full discussions over the agenda item, they are expected to focus on fine-tuning of the proposal at the upcoming talks, showing that they are closely cooperating on the issue," local daily Maeil Economy reported.

The nuclear issue, however, will not be critical at the summit, according to local dailies, as the two allies have already established concrete trust in tackling against the issue.

"The talks will most likely be a review on the South Korea-U.S. alliance against the DPRK's pursuit of nuclear weapons," Yun Duk- min told Xinhua.

As the summit comes before the scheduled U.S.-DPRK dialogue, it will signal to the latter that the two countries are undergoing close consultations, Yun said.

South Korea and the U.S. have together worked to bring back the DPRK to a multilateral negotiation table as it quitted the six- party talks in April.

The DPRK withdrew from the talks in protest of the UN presidential statement to condemn the launch of what it claimed as a scientific satellite.

"The summit will show the DPRK, who wishes to stick to one-on- one communication channels, that the two allies have policy stances in accord and, thus, it should return to the multilateral talks," Yun said.

S. KOREA-U.S. FTA

The two leaders are also expected to discuss over a speedy ratification of the FTA pact.

Although the summit will not likely deal with detailed measures on pushing for the ratification, the leaders are expected to reaffirm their earlier stance on the issue, vowing to work together to chart a way forward.

A joint statement on the ratification is highly unlikely, either, but at least advanced expressions are expected at the summit for there hasn't been any breakthrough since June when the two leaders met in Washington, local media have said.

The ratification process for South Korea-U.S. (KORUS) FTA has been stalled due to harsh protests in both countries, with South Korean opposition groups demanding modification in terms related to beef industry and those in the U.S. enraged over auto industry- related clauses.

"However, the U.S. media and public opinion seem to have turned more favorable towards the pact, recognizing it as one that would benefit the U.S. economy," Yun Duk-min, analyst at the state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, said in an interview with Xinhua.

"In addition, the Obama administration is also aware of the strategic importance of the FTA in its relations with East Asia," Yun said, adding that it would be reflected in the following process of endorsing the pact.

On the other hand, others are still pessimistic on the future of the FTA, saying the Obama administration can be nothing more than reluctant with deteriorating domestic issues, such as the national health insurance plan.

Amid conflicting forecasts in and out of the country, local daily Chosun Ilbo reported that the South Korean government has already delivered its expectations about the FTA to the U.S. side, quoting its source.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Tuesday echoed the media reports, saying he expects the summit will bring about a "considerable" progress in solving the issue, which can be interpreted as pressure to the U.S. side.

While Seoul hopes for more concrete progress over the pact, what will come out of the upcoming summit is still unpredictable.

GLOBAL ISSUES

As the next year's G-20 chair country, South Korea is expected by the global community to get more involved in global issues, which will be reflected at the summit, local media have said.

Hence, the two leaders will also have close consultation on global issues, such as climate change and green growth.

South Korea's hosting the G-20 summit meeting in November 2010 will be included in the summit agenda as well, according to local media.

The issue of South Korea's troop dispatch to Afghanistan, however, will not be brought up, unlike what the White House has previously said.

"As the troop dispatch has been already settled when U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited Seoul last month, there is no need to deal with the issue again," Yun Duk-min said.

South Korea late last month announced a plan to dispatch troops to the South Asian country in a bid to protect its workers helping the U.S.-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).

"With 'the Joint Vision for the Alliance of the Republic of Korea and the United States,' signed last June, South Korea-U.S. ties are expanding and evolving at the same time, bringing in more issues to cooperate on for the sake of global governance," Yun said.

Despite of his short stay in South Korea, Obama's visit will have major implications to the country in many of its urgent issues, and the South Korean government is hoping for positive impacts.