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South Korea remains willing to reconsider its decision to terminate a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan if Tokyo first retracts "unfair" export curbs, the defense ministry said Thursday.
The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) is set to expire on Nov. 23, following South Korea's decision in August to terminate it after Japan imposed export curbs on Seoul in a row over wartime forced labor.
U.S. officials have called strongly for renewing the pact as they consider it a key pillar of trilateral security cooperation with the two Asian allies in a region marked by an increasingly assertive China and a nuclear-armed North Korea.
"Our government's position remains unchanged that if Japan withdraws unfair retaliatory measures and friendly relations between the two countries are restored, various measures can be reconsidered, including GSOMIA," defense ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told a regular briefing.
Asked about the ministry's view on the U.S. continuing to publically pressure Seoul, the official simply said, "We see that as emphasis on the importance of coordination among friendly countries."
In August, South Korea decided to end the three-year-old pact in response to Japan's export curbs on Seoul citing security concerns, which are seen as political retaliation for last year's Korean Supreme Court rulings against Japanese firms over wartime forced labor. (Yonhap)
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