President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Sunday from a trip to Europe that took him first to Britain for a state visit and then to France for a final campaign to bring the 2030 World Expo to Busan.

Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee paid a four-day state visit to London on the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations and received a ceremonial welcome featuring a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace and a state banquet hosted by King Charles III.

The visit produced a new bilateral agreement, called the "Downing Street Accord," on elevating economic and security ties to the highest level, including by upgrading the South Korea-Britain free trade agreement and conducting joint maritime patrols against North Korea's sanctions evasions.

From London, Yoon headed to Paris in what was his second visit this year to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southeastern city of Busan.

Yoon attended a dinner, luncheon and a reception for delegates from the 182 member states of the Bureau International des Expositions, the body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, with only days to go until the selection of the host city on Tuesday.

Yoon appealed for support, saying the Busan Expo will be a platform for solutions to global challenges and a chance for South Korea to repay the favor it received from the international community during its economic development. (Yonhap)