S.Korea to offer $1 bln finance to Brazil's Vale

SEOUL, Nov 20 (Reuters) - South Korea will offer up to $1 billion of financing to Brazilian iron ore miner Vale (VALE5.SA) RIO.N as the resource-hungry Asian country beefs up its interest in mining projects, a state-run bank said on Thursday.

The deal, agreed during South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to Brazil, would help the world's largest iron ore miner fund its $6 billion spending planned over the next five years, as it faces falling iron ore prices and tumbling demand from steelmakers amid fears over a deep global recession.

"The agreement will allow us to share information on mining projects with a top-class global company and is also expected to bolster South Korean firms' participation in raw material projects in South America," the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said in a statement.

South Korea, home to the world's No.4 steelmaker POSCO (005490.KS), imported 46 million tonnes of iron ore in 2007, and 23 percent of the import came from Brazil.

In a separate deal, state-run Korea Resource Corp also signed a memorandum of understanding with its Brazilian counterpart to expand cooperation in mining, the presidential Blue House said in a statement. (Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing By Keiron Henderson)