By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korea and Japan signed a letter of intent on bilateral defense cooperation, Thursday, the first formal military pact between the two neighboring countries, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee signed the letter with his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada during his visit to Japan, it said.
The letter covers goodwill exchanges of top defense officials and military units from the two nations, exchanges between defense institutes, institutionalization of joint search-and-rescue operations, reciprocal visits by aircraft and naval ships, and joint international peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, according to the ministry.