Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held telephone talks Thursday with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss countermeasures against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which conducted a nuclear test Tuesday, local media reported.

During the phone call, the two allies agreed to take resolute stance against the DPRK and cooperate in the United Nations to seek a new UN resolution on the country, according to Japan's Kyodo News Agency.

Both sides also agreed that Japan, the United States and South Korea should closely work on the issue, Kyodo said, citing a Japanese official.

Abe told Obama that the DPRK's nuclear test sabotaged international peace and proposed that Japan and the United States should impose their own sanctions on the DPRK.

For his part, Obama said the United States commits to defending Japan, according to Kyodo.

On Wednesday, Japan and South Korea agreed to seek tougher sanctions against the DPRK in the UN Security Council.

Also during telephone talks, Abe and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed that the Security Council should impose tougher sanctions on the DPRK, adding the two countries will work closely on approving such UN resolution.

The DPRK, despite strong opposition from the international community, conducted its third nuclear test Tuesday, drawing condemnations from a number of countries.

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