President Moon Jae-in held talks with Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O'Neill on Saturday and discussed boosting bilateral relations.

Moon is visiting the Oceanian country to attend this year's summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and O'Neill is the current APEC chair.

Moon is the first South Korean leader to visit Papua New Guinea since diplomatic relations began in 1976.

The meeting with the prime minister addressed a range of multilateral issues including Korea's cooperation with the Pacific region.

The leaders agreed to expand mutually beneficial trade and investment and step up cooperation in energy, maritime infrastructure and fisheries.

They also agreed on joint efforts to combat illegal fishing, preserve marine resources and also ensure a safe environment for Korean deep-sea fishing vessels operating in waters near Papua New Guinea.

Moon and O'Neill also assessed that Pacific island nations were playing a leading role in improving the global perception of climate change.

They agreed to cooperate on the issue bilaterally and also internationally through global agencies such as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Green Growth Institute.

President Moon also talked about the outcome of his third summit with the North Korean leader and asked for Papua New Guinea's continued support for South Korea's efforts toward a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.