President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama said their respective nations will cooperate closely in regards to the transfer of wartime operational control from the U.S. to South Korean forces.

The presidential office in Seoul said Wednesday that the two leaders agreed during summit talks that their nations will regularly review and assess efforts related to the transfer and will cooperate closely throughout the process.

The office also reaffirmed that the transfer will begin on April 17th, 2012, as initially planned, ruling out the possibility that the two nations might revise the timetable.

[Photo : ]