SEOUL (REUTERS) - South Korea has agreed with Indonesia to sign a bilateral, three-year currency swop deal worth up to US$10 billion (S$12.5 billion), which could help Jakarta better defend the rupiah hit by capital flight.

Either of the two Asian countries can swop 10.7 trillion won for 115 trillion rupiah or vice versa under the deal, which South Korea said was agreed on Saturday between finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Washington.

They were attending International Monetary Fund/World Bank annual meetings.