By Kim Yon-se
Korea Times Correspondent
SYDNEY _ Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would bolster support for the inter-Korean summit, slated for Oct. 2-4 in Pyongyang.
In his summit with President Roh Moo-hyun on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum here, Sunday, Putin said he strongly backs Roh's planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Putin agreed with Roh's remarks that ``the inter-Korean summit will make a contribution to resolving North Korea's nuclear issue, promoting peace in the Northeast Asia and economic cooperation between Russia and two Koreas.''
Roh expressed gratitude to Russia which played a crucial role for the successful six-party talks and breaking the impasse over a long-running banking dispute blocking North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
Putin said, ``Moscow and Seoul have closely cooperated with each other with the other countries to the six-way talks over the North Korean nuclear issue. The two countries are also considering persuading North Korea to appreciate the benefits of it becoming a responsible member of the global society,'' he said.
The two leaders also discussed economic cooperation and mutual investment.
``During Putin's tenure, Korea and Russia saw their mutual trade and investment increase remarkably,'' Roh said. ``Prospects on development of resources and linking railways is getting brighter as time goes by.''
Roh also asked Putin to support South Korean companies seeking to build infrastructures in Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and Vladivostok, which is scheduled to host the annual APEC summit in 2012.
Later in the day, in a meeting with Peruvian President Alan Garcia, Roh discussed ways of launching talks for a free trade agreement between the two countries. Peru is to host the APEC forum next year.