Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
INTERVIEW Seoul-Tokyo economic security ties to deepen as NK-Russia axis grows, former Japanese spy chief says
Shigeru Kitamura, CEO of Kitamura Economic Security and former secretary-general of the National Security Secretariat (NSS) of Japan, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at Haevichi Hotel & Resort Jeju in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, Wednesday. The interview was held on the sidelines of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Park Ji-won
SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island — South Korea and Japan will deepen economic security ties as the bond between North Korea and Russia grows stronger, former Japanese spy chief Shigeru Kitamura said Wednesday.
"North Korea has been focusing on nuclear issues and has recently been putting efforts into building intense relations with Russia. It is the reality that Pyongyang is supplying their warheads to Russia in return for foreign currency," Kitamura said in an interview with The Korea Times on the sidelines of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity.
"In the future, economic security between Seoul and Tokyo will be a big part in bilateral cooperation and the two countries will be able to cooperate in many forms."
Kitamura, a former secretary-general of Japan's National Security Secretariat and one of the key aides to the Abe administration, attended the forum as a speaker for a session titled "Between Collective Defense and Collective Security: Toward a New Security Architecture in East Asia."
During the session, he argued that alliances are essential to keeping the region stable, particularly as neighboring states expand their defense capabilities and deepen their own cooperative structures.
He added that what is required now is both rule-making capabilities and the leverage to operationalize alliances, with security needing to integrate diplomacy, intelligence, military, economy and technology into a unified framework.
On the bilateral relationship, Kitamura said ties between Seoul and Tokyo have notably improved and conditions are ripe for expanded cooperation.
"(Amid geographical threats,) I believe the Lee Jae Myung administration and the (Sanae) Takaichi administration have a valid relationship," he said. "In that sense, the move toward sharing supply chains — in energy, critical minerals and related areas — is very welcome. The two countries already have deep mutual ties in the economic field and going forward, economic security will become a major pillar of bilateral cooperation. Beyond that, I believe cooperation is possible in many other forms as well."
He also stressed that South Korea and Japan have built a mature enough relationship to sustain intelligence cooperation even through periods of political friction.
"Even when political relations sour, maintaining communication — and truly understanding what one's counterpart is thinking — is absolutely critical," he said. "In that sense, intelligence cooperation between South Korea and Japan has a long history and it has continued steadily regardless of changes in administrations ... The fact that this channel remains intact and continues year after year is incredibly important."