South Korea announced Monday that President Lee Myung-bak will visit several oil-producing countries in the Middle East in February in an effort to diversify Seoul's oil sources.

Officials say Mr. Lee will visit Turkey and then Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in a week-long tour that begins Saturday.

The president's office said the trip will help South Korea secure a stable supply of energy resources. South Korea is preparing to reduce its imports of Iranian crude oil in line with U.S.-led sanctions.

The United States has pushed Asian countries to join the European Union in cutting crude supplies from Iran in a bid to pressure Tehran to halt its suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons.