Korea, Japan defense chiefs agree to cooperate on AI, maritime search and rescue

Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, left, speaks to Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi during an honor guard review at the Ministry of National Defense in central Seoul's Yongsan District, Sunday, before their bilateral talks. It was the first time in 11 years that a Japanese defense minister visited Korea for bilateral talks. Joint Press Corps

Korea and Japan will cooperate in developing artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies for the defense sector, the two countries' defense chiefs said Sunday.

They also reaffirmed the two sides' commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintaining peace in the region.

Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the cooperation pledges in a joint press statement following their bilateral talks in Seoul.

"The two ministers agreed to continue to seek exchanges and cooperation between their aerobatic teams (the Black Eagles and Blue Impulse) while advancing maritime search and rescue exercises for various accidents at sea and continuing discussions on cooperating in cutting-edge technology sectors, including AI," the statement released by the Ministry of National Defense read.

Discussions involving the two aerobatic teams followed an exchange event between Korea's Black Eagles and Japan's Blue Impulse, when the former refueled during a layover in Okinawa, Japan, on its way to Saudi Arabia for a defense show in January. The event came after Japan once rejected Korea's refueling request in November, citing the Black Eagles' earlier training near Dokdo, Korea's easternmost islets over which Japan has made territorial claims.

The statement also pointed to Seoul and Tokyo's joint maritime search and rescue exercise held on June 7, which was the first of its kind in nine years.

"The two ministers also pledged continuous cooperation to maintain peace and stability in the region amid a challenging security environment, reaffirmed commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and permanent peace, and agreed to bolster not only bilateral but also trilateral cooperation involving the United States," the statement added.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, center, presents framed news articles to Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, right, at the Defense Media Agency in central Seoul's Yonsan District, Sunday. The past articles from the Kookbang Ilbo feature visits to Korea by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese defense minister's father. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense

However, the joint statement made no mention of the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) which has resurfaced in recent months.

The Japanese side has been actively seeking an ACSA with Korea, which would facilitate the sharing of military supplies and services, such as food, fuel, ammunition and transportation, during contingencies.

The two countries discussed signing the deal in 2012 under the Lee Myung-bak administration, but failed to reach an agreement amid fierce public backlash in Korea out of fear that it would pave the way for the Japan Self-Defense Forces to enter Korean territory.

Amid Pyongyang's growing threat to regional security and a thaw in Seoul-Tokyo ties, ACSA talks have resurfaced. But President Lee Jae Myung said in a press conference on June 8 that while there is a practical need for it, it would be emotionally difficult for Koreans to accept.

This was the first time in 11 years that a Japanese defense minister visited Korea for a bilateral meeting.

The last time a Japanese defense minister visited Korea for bilateral talks was in September 2015, when then Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani engaged in talks with then Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo in a meeting that also broke a 10-year diplomatic hiatus.

Ahn also met with Koizumi less than a month earlier, after their previous talks were held on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore in May.

"I am in the ministerial helicopter arranged by Ahn. The fact that the Japanese and South Korean defense ministers are in the same helicopter, traveling to a South Korean army base, demonstrates the deepening defense cooperation between the two nations," Koizumi wrote on social media Saturday.