Seoul  - South Korea and Iraq on Tuesday signed a 3.55-billion-dollar deal to support Bagdad in rebuilding the country in exchange for substantial oil rights.

Seoul agreed to aid in reconstruction efforts and rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure in exchange for the rights to about 2 billion barrels of Iraqi oil produced in the region around Basra in southern Iraq, the office of President Lee Myung Bak said.

"With this agreement, our side can now acquire rights to develop oil reserves in Iraq's Basra region, where most Iraqi oil is produced," the presidential office said in a press release after the deal was signed by Lee and his visiting Iranian counterpart Jalal Talabani.

A South Korean official was quoted as saying by the official Yonhap news agency that the deal entitled the Asian nation to enough oil to supply the country for nearly the next two years.

Details of the agreement are to be finalized by June. Lee also asked Talabani to help South Korean companies wanting to invest in additional infrastructure projects in Iraq.

South Korea in December ended its four-year military mission in Iraq, where it participated in medical and reconstruction missions. (dpa)