Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak agreed during their talks in Seoul earlier this month on a plan to cooperate on antipiracy efforts off the coast of Somalia, Japanese sources said Sunday.
Japan and South Korea, both planning to dispatch vessels to waters off Somalia as early as March, are considering cooperation in areas such as escorting each other's registered ships upon request, the sources said.
The two countries may also share information on ships navigating in the area, while Tokyo is mulling providing information to Seoul on antipiracymeasures in the Malacca Strait based on its cooperationwith countries in that region.