MANILA - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (photo) agreed on Thursday (Dec. 15) to strengthen substantial cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of energy, natural resources and information technology (IT).

In a summit here, they discussed ways to further deepen the friendly relationship and cooperative ties that are forward-looking, reciprocal and substantive, Roh's presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo said in a press briefing.

"South Korea and the Philippines will, for example, jointly develop their mineral resources and strengthen cooperation in the construction of infrastructure such as railways in the Southeast Asian nation," Kim said.

Roh and Arroyo, in particular, agreed to exert utmost efforts to ensure the safety of South Koreans visiting the Philippines and Filipinos in South Korea and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) concerning tourism cooperation.

"In recent years, more and more Koreans are visiting the Philippines and more and more Filipinos are taking an interest in Korea," Roh was quoted as telling Arroyo. "We need to lay a stable foundation for the exchanges to further promote people-to-people interactions."

Presidential aides said the two leaders also talked about the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, such as the North Korean nuclear impasse. They agreed to closely cooperate to bring an end to the international standoff and bring peace to the peninsula.

After the one-hour summit, Roh had a luncheon with business leaders from the two nations and then attended the launching ceremony of the construction of the Manila-South Luzon railway, which is supported by South Korea.

He also met Philippine veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War and attended a state dinner hosted by Arroyo along with First Lady Kwon Yang-suk at the presidential palace in Malacanang.

On his way back home from the ASEAN+3 Summit and East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Roh arrived here Wednesday. He started his itinerary here with a meeting with Korean residents in the Southeast Asian country.

On Friday, Roh will attend with Arroyo the opening ceremony of a Korean-Filipino IT Training Center, built with a $5-million grant by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). He will return home in the afternoon, after wrapping up a nine-day Southeast Asian tour.