China, Japan and South Korea on Saturday agreed to enhance cooperation on disaster management.

The three countries are subject to such natural disasters as earthquakes, typhoons, floods, sediment related disasters and tsunamis, said a joint statement issued at a trilateral meeting of the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea.

Moreover, the risk is expected to rise concerning water-related disasters including typhoons, floods and sediment-related disasters in the changing environment such as climate change and rapid urbanization, it said.

The leaders of the three countries agreed on the importance of sharing information on projects, initiatives, good practices, lessons learned and science and technologies to strengthen disaster management capability.

China, Japan and South Korea will enhance cooperation in developing a comprehensive disaster management framework, working out measures to reduce vulnerability to disaster and minimize its damage, and strengthening effective disaster management at the national, local and community levels, according to the joint statement.

In order to facilitate such cooperation, the three countries agreed to hold in turn trilateral meetings at the heads of government agency and expert level on disaster management, said the statement.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak attended the tripartite meeting in the Japanese city of Fukuoka.

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2008)