Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed Thursday to closely cooperate on the sinking of a South Korean warship, said the Japanese foreign ministry.

During their 15-minute telephone talks, the two leaders were of one mind on cooperation with the United States in response to the incident.

Kan and Lee also pledged to work toward the resumption of bilateral talks to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two nations.

The FTA talks between Japan and South Korea were launched in December 2003 but have been stalled since November 2004 as the two sides differ over potential tariff cuts in farm and industrial products.

During talks with Lee, Kan said he intends to demonstrate strong leadership to resume the FTA talks.

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