Space for you in Siberia, Vladimir Putin tells South Korea

One of these is the Vostochny space centre now under construction in the Far East.

'Now we are building a new launch site in the east of the country just for the purposes of the national economy, for civil purposes,' he said. 'It seems to me that the Republic of Korea could take part in this work as well.'

He spoke in an interview with South Korea's KBS television ahead of his upcoming visit to Seoul, when he also pointed to shipbuilding as a promising investment opportunity. 'We want to revive the shipbuilding cluster in the Far East. We have been negotiating this for a long time with our South Korean partners.

'Unfortunately, various reasons have still prevented us from establishing practical work, even though it seemed to be about to start.'

Other potential projects include the upgrading of the Trans-Siberian rail link and engineering, he said.