"Both sides welcomed the reassertion of sovereignty in Iraq and expressed their commitment towards stabilisation, democratic transition and the reconstruction of the country," said a joint statement by Junichiro Koizumi of Japan and Ferenc Gyurcsany of Hungary.

Tokyo and Budapest have both sent troops to Iraq and faced criticism by opposition parties over the dispatch.

Hungarian Defence Minister Ferenc Juhasz said last week the country would wait until after the US presidential election to decide whether its troops would stay in Iraq beyond their mandate which expires in December.

Koizumi and Gyurcsany also jointly pressed North Korea to begin a "complete dismantlement of its nuclear program" and return to six-nation talks on the nuclear crisis.

North Korea boycotted the fourth round of talks due last month, citing US "hostile" policy and South Korea's revelation of past nuclear experiments.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that North Korea seemed to be waiting for the outcome of the US election. Democratic challenger John Kerry favors direct US talks with the Stalinist state.