SYDNEY (Reuters) -&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean and&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;leaders agreed to strengthen development and&nbsp;security&nbsp;cooperation after a two-day summit where Seoul said&nbsp;it would double development assistance by 2027.
A joint declaration from the first&nbsp;Korea-Pacific&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;Summit, held in Seoul, recognised shared values of "freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human rights" and the "rules-based regional and international order".
The&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;span 40 million square km (15 million square miles) of ocean between the United States and Asia, and Western allies have moved to&nbsp;boost&nbsp;their engagement amid concerns over China's&nbsp;security&nbsp;ambitions for the strategic waters and economic leverage among the small island states.
A statement issued after the summit between&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and 17 leaders and representatives from the&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Island Forum said&nbsp;"peace and stability in the&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;region are interlinked with global peace and stability".
"The Leaders acknowledge the need to strengthen development cooperation and&nbsp;security&nbsp;collaboration&nbsp;including maritime&nbsp;security, climate&nbsp;security, energy&nbsp;security, cyber&nbsp;security, human&nbsp;security, public health and transnational&nbsp;security," it said.
South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;also said&nbsp;it would double the scale of its development assistance to&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Island Countries by 2027, and supported the&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;push to preserve their maritime zones - a vital source of fishing revenue - even if climate change causes small island states to disappear beneath rising seas.
It was the third summit in a week between&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Island leaders and a large economy, following meetings with India and the United States.
South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;shared the view the ocean should be kept free of radioactive waste, and the need for international consultation and scientific assessment, the statement said, a reference to concern over Japan's plan to release water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.
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(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

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South Korea to boost aid, security collaboration with Pacific islands