The US said that South Korea’s decision to pull out of an intelligence-sharing deal with Japan endangers US troops — an usually blunt criticism of one of Washington’s closest allies.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is disappointed in South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s announcement on Thursday that his government would stop participating in the 2016 General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan, US Department of State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said on Sunday.
The pact allowed the two neighbors to directly share intelligence about mutual security concerns, including North Korea and China, without going through the US.
“We are deeply disappointed and concerned that the ROK’s [Republic of Korea] government terminated the General Security of Military Information Agreement,” Ortagus said in a Twitter post. “This will make defending #Korea more complicated and increase risk to US forces.”
The criticism is perhaps the clearest sign yet of the Trump administration’s frustration with the months-long feud between South Korea and Japan.
Over the weekend, Trump criticized Moon and his government at a G7 meeting in France, the Sankei newspaper reported, citing unidentified Japanese government sources.
While South Korea and Japan are protected by tens of thousands of US troops, the Moon administration had argued after withdrawing from the pact that it would strengthen its alliance with the US by increasing defense spending.
The dispute risks complicating a coordinated response to North Korea’s continued missile tests and China’s rising military power projection in the region.
While the agreement does not require the exchange of intelligence and both countries are part of a similar three-way pact with the US, the deal was significant because it demonstrated their ability to cooperate independently from Washington.
There have been 26 instances of intelligence-sharing with Japan since the agreement was signed, South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo told the South Korean National Assembly’s defense committee on Aug. 5.
Jeong nevertheless played down its practical importance, telling the committee that the pact was more about relationships than utility.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese