S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree on need for military info-sharing to deter N. Korea
2014/05/31 15:13
SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) - The defense chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan said Saturday they reached a consensus over the necessity of sharing their military intelligence to better deal with threats from North Korea.
During the trilateral talks among Seoul's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, his U.S. counterpart, Chuck Hagel, and Japanese defense chief Itsunori Onodera, in Singapore earlier in the day, the allies "reaffirmed the importance of sharing intelligence about North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," they said in a joint statement.
They also "shared the view that a continued review of the issue is necessary," it said, indicating that the three sides will push for the signing of a much-expected trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the matter.
"Based upon the shared value and security interests, the three ministers will proceed with trilateral security cooperation and vowed to expand cooperation to contribute to peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the world," they noted.
While stressing their long-held positions that North Korea will not be acknowledged as a nuclear state, the defense chiefs agreed to work closely to deter the North's provocations, according to the statement.
The talks held on the sidelines of the 13th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, served as the first time for Seoul, Washington and Tokyo to officially work on the intelligence sharing issue.
During a Seoul-Washington summit last month, the two sides stated the importance of sharing intelligence among the three countries, and Japan also has agreed on this matter.
The bilateral military intelligence pact was reached between Seoul and Washington, and between Tokyo and Washington, but not between Seoul and Tokyo.
Experts, however, say it would be far from easy for the three nations to reach the military intelligence-sharing deal because of the soured relations between Seoul and Tokyo.
The two neighbors had come close to signing a pact on boosting exchanges of military intelligence on North Korea in 2012, but Seoul dropped the plan due to a wave of public opposition. Many South Koreans still resent Japan for its rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910-1945, with the right-wing Shinzo Abe administration's continued attempts to whitewash the wartime atrocities worsening the situation.
"The trilateral MOU will be confined to the intelligence on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs," a Seoul ministry official stressed.
The three-way cooperation also drew attention as it came on the heels of Japan's decision to lift some of its sanctions against North Korea.
The unilateral move in return for Pyongyang's agreement to revisit the fate of Japanese people abducted by the North decades ago sparked concerns that the policy coordination among the allies toward North Korea may rupture.
Defense ministers of the allies have held their trilateral talks on the sidelines of the Singapore meeting since 2009. This year's annual Shangri-La dialogue from May 30 to June 1 was attended by defense ministers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and security experts from 27 countries in the Asia-Pacific and European regions.
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