South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has received an honor guard welcome in Burma, on the first such trip by a South Korean leader in nearly 30 years.

Mr. Lee met with Burmese President Thein Sein Monday to discuss increasing economic ties as well as cooperation on energy and natural resources. He is expected to meet Tuesday with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Tight security was in effect when Mr. Lee flew into the capital, Naypyitaw, for the brief two-day visit.

The last South Korean president to visit Burma was Chun Doo-hwan, who escaped a 1983 assassination attempt. In that attack, North Korean agents set off a bomb blast at a shrine to Aung San Suu Kyi's father and independence hero, killing 21 people, including 17 South Koreans.