President Lee Myung-bak and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera agreed Monday to expand cooperation between the two countries in energy and resources, infrastructure and renewable energy and environmental industries, the South Korean presidential office said.

The summit took place on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit that is opening later Monday. Pinera is one of more than 50 world leaders who have gathered in Seoul to attend the conference aimed mainly at discussing ways to keep nuclear material out of the hands of terrorist groups.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Chile, and Chile is the first foreign nation that South Korea signed a free trade deal with. The two leaders agreed to further accelerate the friendly and cooperative relations, the office said in a statement.

They also agreed to provide active support for company-to-company cooperation between the two countries, especially in the energy and resources and infrastructure sectors. They also agreed to expand cooperation in the renewable energy and environmental industries, it said.

Pinera is scheduled to make a visit to a tidal power plant on the west coast, the office said.

Pinera told Lee Chile supports Seoul's position on the North Korean nuclear standoff and will continue to stand by Korea, which is trying to safeguard peace and democracy, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said.

Pinera invited Lee to visit his country this year and Lee accepted the offer, Park said. (Yonhap)