CANNES, France-- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed support for a proposal to beef up the rescue fund of the International Monetary Fund when he met with European Union leaders on Thursday, an official said.

   Senior presidential press secretary Choe Geum-nak quoted Lee as saying he "basically agrees" to increase IMF funds, because he believes it will help stabilize the global financial market amid the Eurozone debt crisis.

   Lee made the remark when he met with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the southern French city of Cannes.

   Van Rompuy called for increasing IMF funds to help resolve the Eurozne debt problems, saying the crisis is not only a problem for Europe but an issue that needs global cooperation to resolve, Choe said.

   Lee praised the EU for its efforts to get North Korea to improve its human rights conditions and asked for continued efforts to help the communist nation become a responsible member of the international community, the official said.

   The two sides also agreed that regaining market confidence through implementation of the EU's "comprehensive strategy" is key to overcoming the debt problems, pledging to closely coordinate policies for stable growth of the world economy, the presidential office said in a statement.

   Eurozone leaders put together the rescue package last month, which includes extending the powers of the European Financial Stabilization Facility (EFSF).

   Lee and the EU leaders also welcomed the rise in trade volume between the two sides since their free trade agreement went into effect in July. Trade between South Korea and the EU amounted to $25.3 billion between July and September, up 11.8 percent from the same period last year.

   The leaders also agreed to work together to further move their "strategic partnership" together, it said.

   Earlier, Lee also met bilaterally with South Korean-born U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

   During the meeting, Ban renewed his call for South Korea to send peacekeeping troops to South Sudan, saying the situation in the country is "serious," according to the senior presidential press secretary.

   South Sudan officially declared its independence on July 9 from the Arab-dominated North after decades of civil war that claimed 2 million lives. Ban has since asked South Korea to send troops there as part of U.N. peacekeeping forces.

   Seoul has been considering sending troops to South Sudan since Ban's request. Last month, the country sent a fact-finding mission to the  African country to survey security and other conditions.

   Ban also asked Lee to play key roles at the G20 summit to draw global attention to the issue of providing assistance to developing nations amid concern the matter would be sidelined by the Eurozone debt crisis, Choe said.

   On Wednesday, Lee attended a meeting of global business leaders, calling for companies to expand investment and create jobs to spur the global economy, saying the world cannot expect government stimulus measures that had played a key role in overcoming the 2008 financial turmoil.

   Lee also urged debt-ridden countries to carry out excruciating restructuring to overcome the crisis, saying that the eurozone debt problems are spilling over to the financial sector and the negative effects of instability in advanced economies are expanding to emerging markets as well.

  (Yonhap News)