O-bam-a! U.S. President shows off his martial arts skills on visit to South Korea



He's already known for his moves on the basketball court and the dance floor.

But Barack Obama is not letting the world forget about the other moves he has in his arsenal.



Taking advantage of a trip to South Korea today, he showed off his tae kwon do skills to President Lee Myung-bak.

Bam! President Barack Obama shows off his tae kwon do skills as President Lee Myung-Bak looks approving at the presidential palace in Seoul today

Mr Obama struck his pose after his South Korean counterpart gave him a tae kwon do uniform and black belt as a gift during their summit talks.

The president is known to have studied the martial art for four years from 2001, when he was a junior senator in Illinois.

He took just as firm a stance politically today when he joined forces with President Lee to pressure North Korea to fall in line and return to nuclear talks.

And they agreed to push for progress on approving a bilateral free trade deal that has yet to be ratified by legislatures in either country two years after it was signed.

'The thing I want to emphasise is that President Lee and I both agree we want to break the pattern that existed in the past, in which North Korea behaves in a provocative fashion, and then is willing to return to talk ... and then that leads to seeking further concessions,' Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama was also mobbed by U.S. soldiers upon his arrival at Osan Air Base in Osan, South Korea today

The president was in Osan to rally his troops at the end of his Asian tour today

Mr Lee, standing beside Mr Obama at a news conference after their bilateral meeting in Seoul, said that North Korea could hope for massive economic aid if it renounces its nuclear arms ambitions.

'I hope that by accepting our proposal, the North will secure safety for itself, improve the quality of life for its people, and open the path to a new future,' Mr Lee said.

North Korea rattled regional security just ahead of Mr Obama's first visit to Seoul since taking office by sparking a naval fight with the South and telling the world early this month it had produced a fresh batch of arms-grade plutonium.

The United States, South Korea and Japan have cranked up pressure on the destitute North by squeezing lines of finance to get it back to six-country negotiations on its nuclear programme.

Mr Obama said the door was open for resolving the nuclear stand-off and a special envoy, Stephen Bosworth, would go to Pyongyang on December 8 for talks.

However he added Washington was determined not to distracted by 'side issues' thrown up by North Korea.