Japan’s Kyodo News reports South Korea and Japan will take the lead in seeking a multilateral accord to tackle short-term liquidity problems in Asia.

The report said Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun and his Japanese counterpart Hirohisa Fujii reached the agreement during their meeting in Pittsburgh.

The two countries will cooperate in seeking a multilateral agreement based on the Chiang Mai Initiative in which ten Southeast Asian countries, South Korea, China and Japan agreed to set up a joint fund to resolve regional financial troubles in May.

The finance ministers also agreed to mobilize financial support for Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's proposal to build an East Asian community.