Korea, Japan moving to expand military ties

By Yi Whan-woo

A team of South Korean sailors will visit Japan next month as part of its annual training on marine navigation, the defense ministry said Sunday, showing the latest sign that the two sides are moving to expand bilateral military exchanges.

It said the Cruise Training Task Group, consisting of the 4,400-ton destroyer Yi Sun-shin and the 4,200-ton logistic support ship Chunji, will visit Tokyo Sept. 8 to 11 with around 600 sailors aboard in their tour of 12 countries. The group will also travel to the United States, Russia, Australia and Singapore before returning home in December.

This is the first time since 2011 that the training group will visit Japan, fueling speculation that Seoul and Tokyo are trying to bolster military ties amid Pyongyang’s growing military threats.

“The annual training comes as part of efforts to bolster South Korea’s alliance with friendly nations, and the visit to Tokyo will contribute to military ties between the two neighbors,” said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

“The South Korean sailors will be able to share experience with the Japanese, get to know each other better, and strengthen relations in the long term.”

Yang cited that the 600 sailors include cadets from the Naval Academy. The cadets will graduate the school next year and will be commissioned as officers.

Yang said building military ties with Japan will be critical to better deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

“The geographical features of Japan allow the country to monitor North Korea’s military activities from various angles using their intelligence assets,” he said.

He also said the annual training may help resume discussion of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) aimed at sharing classified military intelligence on North Korea between South Korea and Japan.

The two sides initially planned to sign the GSOMIA in 2012 under the government of Lee Myung-bak.

But the plan was scrapped following protests from South politicians and civic activists who have insisted on first resolving unsettled historical disputes involving the Japanese military.

The territorial disputes between the two countries over South Korea’s easternmost islets Dokdo disrupted the talks.

“It would be too much to say the annual training will lead to GSOMIA. But the training may serve as a stepping stone to resume all necessary measures to begin discussion of GSOMIA.”