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.
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