Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
US to take a bigger role over Seoul-Tokyo friction
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a welcome ceremony in honor of new Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army General Mark Milley at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, Oct. 1 (KST). Reuters-Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
By Lee Min-hyung
The United States hinted at playing a “bigger role” in getting Seoul to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan as early as possible. The ending of the agreement was a blow to Washington's efforts to monitor North Korean activities, a U.S. government official said in a forum hosted by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Tuesday (KST).
Speaking at the forum, John Rood, undersecretary of defense for policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, urged Seoul to reconsider its decision to terminate the military information sharing pact as policy coordination among Washington, Tokyo and Seoul was “indispensable” in countering the North's threats and China's growing influence.
The U.S. government official added Washington will “take a bigger role” if needed because the integrity of its defense and security ties with Seoul and Tokyo “must persist” despite the growing spat in other areas of bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan.
Stressing Washington's ongoing Indo-Pacific strategy, Rood said the United States will continue to encourage South Korea to renew the GSOMIA.
The official said the United States has no plans to dispatch nuclear weapons to South Korea refuting concerns that Washington might ask either the South or Japan to host mid-range nuclear missiles.
Bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan have been frosty following Japan's removal of Korea from its list of trusted business partners. Seoul terminated the GSOMIA, while demanding Tokyo accept rulings by South Korea's top court ordering Japanese firms to compensate Koreans forced to work for them before and during World War II.
Last week at the United Nations, there was no summit between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The foreign ministers of the countries met, but failed to narrow their differences over pending issues.
Seoul's decision to terminate the intelligence-sharing pact should have been made after more careful consideration, as the move has ended up heightening political and security uncertainty in Northeast Asia, Rood said.
Cheong Wa Dae officials said the renewal of the GSOMIA would only be possible if Japan “fully respects” the South Korean court's decision and expresses its willingness to address historical issues through open and candid dialogue. President Moon didn't raise the issue of extending the military pact when he met with U.S. President Donald Trump, last week at the U.N.
“It is hard for me to understand why the government did not set a deadline for Japan to respond before making the abrupt decision,” Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University, said. “The decision to nullify the GSOMIA must have perplexed Japan and even the U.S.”
After the termination of the GSOMIA, some U.S. officials said the decision was made in a hasty manner without close communication with Washington. More specifically, the U.S. has expressed a deep sense of regret and disappointment through official channels amid concerns that the decision will weaken the trilateral security alliance among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.
Given the growing security uncertainty in Northeast Asia mostly because of the rise of the quasi-alliance among China, Russia and North Korea, Seoul is increasingly being urged to think about the possible implications of the GSOMIA on the military security alliance front, experts in Seoul said.