South Korea and Japan have temporarily suspended a military exchange program amid a territorial row over a set of disputed islands, defense officials said yesterday.
Japanese naval and air force commanders suspended trips to South Korea that had been scheduled to start yesterday as part of a military exchange program, the South’s defense ministry said.
South Korea will also suspend similar trips to Japan by its commanders, a ministry spokesman said.
“The move is temporary, reflecting strained ties between the two countries,” he said.
The current dispute is over ownership of South Korean-controlled islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese.
Ministry officials said the row could affect other military exchange and cooperation programs if tensions escalate further.
Relations between the two sides have deteriorated since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a surprise visit to the islands on Aug. 10.
He said his trip, the first by a South Korean president, was intended to press Japan to settle grievances left over from its 1910-1945 colonial rule over Korea.
Lee further angered Japan by saying later that Emperor Akihito must sincerely apologize for past excesses should he wish to visit South Korea.
Japan canceled a finance ministers’ meeting scheduled for this month and said it would review a foreign exchange swap agreement with Seoul, as the rift threatened to spill over into economic ties.
Tokyo has also hinted it could freeze plans to buy South Korean government bonds under an agreement reached in May.
South Korea last week formally rejected Japan’s proposal that the two countries ask an international court to settle the dispute.
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