South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed Friday to work together to cut costs and establish international rules in the hydrogen sector.

During a discussion at Stanford University, the two leaders talked about ways their countries can cooperate in the hydrogen sector, given South Korea's wide use of hydrogen cars and Japan's large number of hydrogen-related patents.

Both Yoon and Kishida attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco this week.

The discussion came a day after they held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit, their seventh bilateral summit this year, as Seoul and Tokyo push to mend and develop their relationship after years of tensions over historical disputes.

Yoon recalled that he and Kishida and US President Joe Biden agreed during their trilateral summit at Camp David in August to develop the trilateral partnership into a comprehensive cooperation mechanism.

He said the three countries should especially strengthen cooperation in areas such as advanced technology, AI and digital governance, carbon reduction and the transition to clean energy.

Yoon and Kishida also took part in a moderated discussion with former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, before taking questions from Stanford University students.

Ahead of the discussion, the two leaders met with a group of South Korean and Japanese startup representatives working in Silicon Valley.

South Korea plans to open a Korea Startup Center in Tokyo early next year to serve as a hub for startup exchanges between the two countries, the presidential office said. (Yonhap)