South Korea, Russia sign €63 billion natural gas deal

South Korea has signed a €63 billion deal with Russia to receive 10 billion cubic metres (BCM) of natural gas per year for 30 years through a pipeline that runs across North Korea, said Seoul's energy ministry.

The deal, signed between state-run firms - Korea Gas Corp. and Russia's Gazprom - will give South Korea the access to Russian gas from 2015, the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, a Kremlin official said that the two countries were to sign the deal to supply Siberian gas to Seoul.

The deal was announced to coincide with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's state visit to Russia.