S. Korea conditionally extends military pact with Japan

Cheong Wa Dae announces the decision to conditionally extend GSOMIA, Friday. Yonhap

Seoul, Tokyo to pursue summit next month

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in has decided at the last minute to reverse Seoul's decision not to renew a military information-sharing pact with Japan, giving both countries more time to negotiate on outstanding bilateral issues.

Seoul will extend the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) on the condition that Japan withdraws its trade restrictions imposed in July on three key industrial materials crucial for Korean high-tech manufacturers and its removal of Korea from its "whitelist" of preferred trading partners in August. The presidential office announced the "conditional" suspension of the termination only six hours before the GSOMIA officially expired as of midnight Friday night, following a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) presided by Moon at Cheong Wa Dae earlier Friday. Seoul will also temporarily withhold a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Japan.

"Our government has decided to suspend the GSOMIA termination, under the condition that we can pursue the termination at any future point. Tokyo has expressed its understanding toward this decision. We will not proceed further with a complaint filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the three industrial materials while the two countries earnestly engage in export management negotiations," Kim You-geun, first deputy director of the presidential National Security Office (NSO), said in a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday.

"We held an NSC meeting with the President, which is very rare. The President's attendance at the NSC means he places a high priority on normalizing relations with Japan," a senior presidential aide said. Cheong Wa Dae reiterated that it will still consider ending the GSOMIA in the future if Japan does not meet Korea's conditions and urged Japan to move quickly to withdraw the trade restrictions. "We must go back to the way things were before July 1. We must be placed back on the whitelist. Then we can extend the GSOMIA and retract the WTO petition. We will not wait too long for these conditions to be met," the aide said.

After Cheong Wa Dae's announcement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said both countries have agreed to open working-level talks at the director and director-general levels in the near future.

"With the suspension of the GSOMIA termination, the two countries will continue to exchange military intelligence through the pact," a senior official of the Ministry of National Defense said after Cheong Wa Dae's announcement. "The decision will contribute to regional security and promoting security cooperation."

The major turnaround on the GSOMIA termination has revived the momentum for a diplomatic solution to narrow bilateral differences on contentious issues. In particular, the two countries will be looking in the coming weeks for a mutually acceptable deal on the issue of compensating surviving South Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 occupation of Korea.

Cheong Wa Dae had signaled that it will maintain its initial decision to end the GSOMIA if there is "no change" from Japan on the trade restrictions. Some experts in Seoul said that Washington's reaction to the decision seems to have played a crucial factor in suspending the pact's termination. U.S. officials and experts have called on Seoul to maintain the pact with Japan as it is a key symbol of trilateral security cooperation.

"The United States fully supports the Republic of Korea (ROK)-Japan GSOMIA, an agreement that demonstrates the maturity of their bilateral defense relationship and improves our ability to coordinate trilaterally. We are all stronger and Northeast Asia is safer when the United States, Japan and Korea work together in solidarity and friendship," U.S. Embassy spokesperson William M. Coleman said.

Putting GSOMIA back on track reflects Moon's determination for finding a diplomatic breakthrough in rebuilding Korea-Japan relations following months of deadlock. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had refused to meet Moon for a summit until Seoul brings a solution they can accept on the forced labor issue. But they met briefly in Thailand earlier this month on the sidelines of the ASEAN+3 summit after Moon sent Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon for the coronation of the new Japanese emperor.

Expectations are rising that the two leaders could meet again next month during the Korea-Japan-China summit in China. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Japan late Friday to attend the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. It is expected that she will coordinate the details of a bilateral summit with her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi.

Abe noted that Korea's decision was based on a "strategic point of view" and stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation.

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