President Lee Myung-bak toured the venue for the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit Thursday to check final preparations to host the massive event set to bring together more than 50 leaders and high-level representatives from around the world.

Lee visited various key points in the venue set up at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in southern Seoul, including the welcome point where he will greet foreign leaders arriving for the conference, the main conference hall, the international media center and the press conference room.

Fifty-eight leaders and top officials from 53 countries, the European Union, the United Nations and two other international organizations will attend the two-day conference set to begin on Monday to mainly discuss preventing nuclear terrorism.

Participants include U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as well as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The meeting is expected to be one of the largest international events South Korea has ever hosted.

During his tour of the venue, Lee scrutinized in detail that arrangements had been made for the convenience of participating leaders, including whether guests would be guided from one point to another as smoothly as possible.

Lee also held a rehearsal for a group photo opportunity set for the final day of the conference, while checking on security and safety measures as well as steps to minimize any inconvenience the conference may cause citizens.

Lee asked organizing committee officials to spare no efforts in making final preparations so as to ensure the summit is a success, saying South Korea successfully hosted a G20 summit in 2010 thanks not only to help from the public, but also because of the efforts of organizing officials. (Yonhap News)