SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- The Japanese ambassador to Seoul said Wednesday that Tokyo is prepared to sign a military intelligence pact with South Korea "at any time," urging Seoul to boost military partnership in the face of North Korea's bellicose threats.

South Korea and Japan postponed the signing of the military intelligence-sharing agreement last July -- which would have been the first military pact between the two nations -- due to discontent among Koreans. Memories of Japan's brutal colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula remain vivid in South Korea.