The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan met here Jan. 10 to discuss cooperative pacts on military supplies and information, a symbolic step to establish closer military ties and move past the historical legacy of Japan's brutal colonization of Korea a century ago. The talks between South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his Japanese counterpart, Toshimi Kitazawa, the first of its kind in about two years, come amid growing calls to further strengthen tripartite defense cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the United States to deter North Korea's military provocation.
"The two ministers exchanged views on regional security situations in an in-depth manner," Seoul's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. "In particular, both ministers share the view that North Korea's recent provocative activities, such as the revelation of its new uranium enrichment facility as well as the sinking of ROK's Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, cannot be tolerated and seriously compromise peace and stability in Northeast Asia as well as on the Korean Peninsula."
In March, South Korea's Cheonan corvette was allegedly torpedoed by a North Korean submarine near the disputed sea border in the West Sea, or Yellow Sea. Forty-six sailors were killed in the sinking. In November, the North fired hundreds of shells from its coastal artillery guns onto Yeonpyeong, one of the five South Korean islands near the border, Northern Limit Line (NLL), killing four people.
Since then, the Seoul government has vowed a stronger defense posture based on closer military ties with its allied nations.
A major topic for the Kim-Kitazawa meeting was an agreement on supplying each other's armed forces during peacekeeping and other international operations, including disaster relief efforts.
Called the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, the pact would limit cooperation to providing each other's militaries with essential items, such as food, water and fuel, and to sharing support services like transportation and medical care, a senior South Korean official said.
"We've long felt the need of such a pact as our country has been participating in numerous international peacekeeping operations, such as in Haiti and Somalia," the official said. "In that context, we thought this kind of pact on military supplies could be a stepping stone for both countries to further develop and expand their defense cooperation."
Kim and Kitazawa agreed to hold specific consultations in the future toward signing the pact, he added.
The ministers also conferred on a possible agreement to facilitate sharing of delicate military information, such as North Korea's nuclear program and weapons of mass destruction, said the official.
Such a deal, known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), is referred to as a top level defense pact followed by another for joint military exercises. South Korea has already made such pacts with 21 other countries.
The prospects for the Seoul-Tokyo GSOMIA remain bleak, however, given deep resentment among South Koreans toward Japan, which occupied Korea between 1910 and 1945.
A series of historical and territorial disputes stemming from the colonial rule have plagued relations between the two neighbors for decades, though they are key trade partners and share common security concerns about North Korea.
"The deal on the protection of military secrets is expected to be discussed gradually in the long-term in accordance with the public sentiment toward it," the official said. "Instead, both nations will continue developing military exchanges on supra-national or nontraditional issues." The ministers also agreed to further facilitate goodwill visits by senior defense officials and promote exchanges of military personnel and education.
No comments:
Post a Comment