South Korean President Park Geun-hye asked her Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias to deepen bilateral cooperation in the shipping and shipbuilding sectors during their summit talks held in Seoul, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.

President Papoulias arrived in Seoul Monday for his four-day trip, becoming the first Greek head of state to visit the Asian country since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1961.

During the summit talks, President Park expressed her gratitude for the Greek dispatch of troops during the 1950-53 Korean War. The size of the dispatched troops was the sixth-largest among the 16 UN-led combatant nations.

Park said that Greece has played a critical role in developing South Korea's shipbuilding industry as the European nation is the biggest buyer of ships made in local plants, calling for support from Greece to deepen mutually reciprocal cooperation in the shipbuilding and shipping industries.

Over the past four years, orders taken by South Korean shipbuilders from Greece accounted for about 25 percent of the total. The country's ship exports to the European country took up more than 80 percent of its total exports to Greece.

Park also asked Papoulias to support South Korean companies' participation in the Greek infrastructure projects such as railroads, air and sea ports.

Regarding the geopolitical front, Park said that the Greek government has consistently supported South Korea's stance on the Korean Peninsula issue, noting that the two countries will respond jointly to global issues such as cyber security and climate change.