South Korea yesterday said that it is to scrap an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, a decision that could further escalate a dispute over history and trade and undercut security cooperation on North Korea.
The decision was announced after an hours-long debate within the presidential National Security Council.
The General Security of Military Information Agreement was due to be automatically renewed tomorrow, unless either side canceled it.
Japan created a “grave change” in the environment for bilateral security cooperation by removing South Korea’s fast-track export status, citing security concerns without providing clear evidence, council Deputy Director Kim You-geun said.
“Under this situation, we have determined that it would not serve our national interest to maintain an agreement we signed with the aim of exchanging military information which is sensitive to security,” Kim told a news conference.
South Korea would deliver a formal notice to Japan within the due date, Kim said.
Kyodo News agency quoted an unidentified Japanese government official as saying the decision was “extremely regrettable.”
Public broadcaster NHK said an unidentified Japanese official described the decision as “unbelievable,” while another official said it was unlikely to have much impact on Japanese security.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said before the announcement that the deal bolstered security cooperation between the two nations.
“Although ties between Japan and South Korea are in a very tough situation, we believe we should cooperate with South Korea where cooperation is necessary,” Suga told a regular news conference earlier yesterday.
The decision is likely to be met with dismay in the US, which fears weakened security cooperation. The accord is important for efforts to fend off North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
US envoy on North Korea Stephen Biegun raised the issue during a meeting with South Korean Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Hyun-chong before the council gathering.
The US played a key role in initiating the hard-won agreement, which was clinched in 2016 after a 2012 plan fell apart in the face of domestic opposition in South Korea toward military cooperation with Japan.
Relations between the two US allies are seen at their lowest since they normalized ties in 1965, plagued by bitterness over Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula, which included the use of South Korean forced labor at some Japanese firms.
South Korea had warned it could reconsider the agreement after Japan imposed export curbs on some materials vital to South Korean chipmakers and stripped the nation of fast-track export status.
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