NHN Japan's free-calling and free-messaging mobile app Line has outpaced Kakao Talk as its number of users worldwide has hit the 60-million mark some 15 months after its release, it said on Monday.

Kakao Talk, which was launched in March 2010, garnered 59.5 million users as of Friday.

Line was released about one year later, but it has been able to race ahead by focusing on different markets. While 80 percent of KakaoTalk users are based in Korea, Line's domestic users make up just 10 percent of its subscription base, as it has targeted global markets after launching its service in Japan first.

"Currently, [Line] is available in 230 countries. The number of subscribers is rapidly increasing, with 10 million people signing up in the last six weeks alone," NHN said.