South Korea will launch a three-year project with the Philippines to help the Southeast Asian country's police boost their investigative capability, especially in cases involving South Korean nationals living there, the police said Sunday.

South Korea plans to invest US$6.6 million for three years starting in 2016 for the project, led here by the Korean National Police Agency and the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

Under the project, the South Korean police agency will transfer its investigative know-how to the Philippine police by dispatching professional investigators from 17 key fields, such as investigation education, crime-scene investigation, evidence analysis and CCTV analysis, according to the police.

South Korea will also run a special training program, inviting Philippine police officers to the local police agency.

The Philippine police will receive 130 police cars, 142 motorcycles and 120 pieces of scientific investigation equipment, the police here noted.

For South Korea, the project will enable the country to better protect South Korean nationals living in the Southeast Asian country, where a rising number of Koreans have fallen prey to violent crimes.

The police said the assistance program will focus on four major tourist regions -- Manila, Angeles, Cebu and Baguio -- which have large Korean populations.

Currently, the South Korean police are operating a "Korean Desk" within the Philippine police department to tighten cooperation in crime cases involving South Koreans.

"The Philippine police assistance program is designed to better protect our nationals living in the country," a police official said. (Yonhap)