South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Malaysian counterpart Anifah Aman agreed in talks in Seoul to work together to increase substantial cooperation in all areas, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The two sides also agreed to resume long-suspended senior-level policy consultation talks this year and seek ways to strengthen cooperation in information and communications technology and other high value-added industries, the ministry said.   

Yun asked Anifah for Malaysia's support for a bilateral teacher exchange program set to kick off this year and for efforts to have the Korean language adopted as one of the second foreign languages taught at secondary schools in the Southeast Asian nation.

He also invited Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to a special summit to be held this year between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Ahead of the talks, the two sides held a moment of silence for the victims of the ferry Sewol.   

Yun also expressed sympathy for the families of the victims of the missing jetliner Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Anifah thanked Yun for the South Korean military's support in efforts to search for the jet.

Anifah is the first Malaysian foreign minister to visit South Korea in eight years. (Yonhap)