Japan and South Korea place differences aside and meet financial crisis

On Monday Japanese and South Korean leaders put their country differences aside and pledged cooperation amid the global financial crisis in a bid to resuscitate the hard-hit Asian economies.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korea's Lee Myung-bak, both under intense pressure domestically due to their export-dependent countries' financial woes, held brief talks in Seoul to discuss a coordinated response to the global crisis.

This meeting follows a trilateral summit that was held last month when the three asian countries vowed to work together to tackle the crisis.

Lee very positively stated that he believed the joint cooperation and work with the international community will be a of major help for the world economy to quickly overcome the crisis.

Tokyo and Seoul is expected to work closely to coordinate financial reforms and macroeconomic policy to tackle the global downturn and fight against protectionism.

Japan and South Korea are among Asia's hardest hit economies by the global financial crisis. Their stock markets have experienced steep declines, and there are fears unemployment will rise with major exporters slowing down or temporarily suspending production due to the global slowdown.