Korea, Ukraine pledge closer economic cooperation

President Lee Myung-bak and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych agreed Wednesday to deepen substantial cooperation in aerospace, agriculture and infrastructure industries, the presidential office said.

Yanukovych was in Seoul where he had attended the two-day Nuclear Security Summit, which ended Tuesday.

Lee praised Ukraine's contribution to international nuclear security, including its voluntary abandonment of nuclear weapons in 1994 and its fulfillment of a 2010 pledge to scrap all of the country's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium (HEU) by returning them to Russia, according to the office.

Ukraine announced the total "cleanout" of its HEU stockpiles last week.

The two leaders said they appreciated that relations between their countries have moved forward steadily since forging diplomatic ties 20 years ago, and agreed to make greater efforts to enhance substantial cooperation in aerospace, agriculture and infrastructure industries, the presidential office reported. (Yonhap)