US-Japan-ROK security alliance losing luster

The security alliance among the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea suffered a huge blow in August when Seoul decided to withdraw from the General Security of Military Information Agreement following a trade dispute with Tokyo. Officially, the GSOMIA, an intelligence sharing pact, will remain in force until Saturday.

The Japan-ROK trade conflict has its roots in the historical disputes between the two countries, especially the dispute over "comfort women" - women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. Japan claims that compensation has already been paid to the "comfort women". But people in the ROK say that is not true. What compounded matters was a Seoul court ruling in July that ordered some Japanese enterprises to pay damages and apologize for using forced labor during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

Complicating the issue further is the US' insistence that Japan and the ROK pay more to the US for the deployment of US forces in the two countries to enhance their security. Washington says Seoul should pay $5 billion for hosting the US troops, which is five times of what the ROK paid this year. Seoul has refused to pay the hiked amount and, instead, asked the US to pay compensation for the damage US troops have caused to the local environment.