Seoul, Tokyo likely to boost defense exchanges

By Yi Whan-woo

South Korea and Japan are expected to resume negotiations on sharing military intelligence, sources said Monday.

The defense ministers of the two nations will meet in Seoul today.

The meeting between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani are the first high-level defense talks since the Seoul-Tokyo discussions on the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) were suspended in 2012.

The GSOMIA is aimed at boosting exchanges of military intelligence about North Korea.

In June 2012, the two countries were close to the signing of the pact when former President Lee Myung-bak was in power.

South Korea, however, put off signing the pact following protests from politicians and civic activists amid prolonged historical disputes between the two nations.

Since then, Seoul has faced a growing need to bolster a trilateral security alliance with the United States and Japan in the wake of Pyongyang’s threats to fire a long-range rocket and carry out its nuclear program.

The military regime has repeatedly hinted at firing a long-range rocket, which the U.S.-led allies suspect is a mere cover for a ballistic missile test.

It also warned that it is ready to use its nuclear weapons for “self-defense” purposes against Washington.

The communist state’s development of weapons of mass destruction has raised concerns that Seoul and Tokyo should set up a channel to share their intelligence against such threats, in addition to their alliance with Washington.

During the 14th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, which took place in Singapore in May, Han and Nakatani agreed to resume discussions about mutual concerns and defense cooperation between the two nations.

The two defense chiefs are expected to discuss today ways to prevent Pyongyang’s military aggression.

They are also likely to share their thoughts on Japan’s new security laws that allow its soldiers to fight abroad for the first time since World War II.

The legislation is aimed at supporting the U.S. military when it’s under attack from enemies, including North Korea.

With Japanese nationalist leader Shinzo Abe refusing to offer a sincere apology over the country’s wartime atrocities, the new set of laws has raises concerns that Japanese military units may forcibly enter the Korean Peninsula. Some 28,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed on the South Korean soil.

Tokyo has constantly expressed its hope to explain the passage of the laws to Seoul, apparently wary of the latter's concerns over the former's possible entrance on and near South Korean territory.

The defense ministers’ talks will also come amid Washington’s Asia rebalancing strategy, which requires cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo to contain a rising China.

Some U.S. researchers have claimed Seoul is ambiguous in security policies and has favored Beijing over Washington.