Seoul, Tokyo to sign military pact

Reports on Wednesday quoted officials in Seoul as saying that the Republic of Korea will sign a military agreement with Japan as early as Friday, creating the first bilateral defense pact since Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula ended in 1945.

Analysts said the signing not only displays both countries' growing fears over Pyongyang's nuclear program, but also serves as a key way to beef up US-Japan-ROK trilateral collaboration.

Seoul's decision to sign the General Security of Military Information Agreement was made during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Yonhap News Agency said.

The pact calls for sharing intelligence about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its nuclear and missile programs, Yonhap said.

Japanese Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura confirmed to reporters on Wednesday morning that the agreement is at "a final stage" and will be signed as early as Friday, Japan's Sankei Shimbun website reported.

The two countries have agreed that the information, provided by their counterpart in secret, will not be available to a third country and will not be used for unintended purposes.

Experts said Pyongyang's failed satellite launch in April and its other military threats highlighted the need to swap information and prompted both governments to conclude the signing.

"Seoul has based bilateral defense cooperation on an information swap first because Japan has been one of Seoul's timely intelligence sources," said Huang Youfu, an expert on Korean studies at Minzu University of China.

Huang said the collaboration is sending a negative message about the situation in the Northeast Asian region.

Yang Bojiang, a professor of Japan studies at the University of International Relations, said the agreement is a realistic option for Seoul to increase its comparative advantage in defense affairs against Pyongyang, yet Tokyo has more plans in mind.

"Tokyo is slackening its grip on arms exports and defense policies, and the next step between Japan and the ROK may be to boost a swap in defense technologies," Yang said.

Yonhap quoted an official in Seoul as saying that Seoul needs the pact to use Japan's intelligence assets, including its spy satellites and high-end surveillance aircraft.

Experts said Washington plays a vital role in encouraging US-Japan-ROK cooperation, and directly urged an early signing of the deal during the US-ROK Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultation 2+2 meeting in mid-June, according to Sankei.

"Another way to strengthen and modernize our alliance is by expanding our ongoing trilateral collaboration with Japan," US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said at the meeting.

The trilateral security cooperation "helps strengthen regional security and provides the additional deterrent with respect to North Korea", Panetta added.

The US is shifting its strategic emphasis back to the Asia-Pacific, yet its limited defense budgets and its existing military deployment have led to the cooperation between Japan and the ROK, which can "share Washington's burden", Yang said.

Seoul reportedly planned to sign the agreement in April, but the signing was postponed in consideration of national feelings against signing a military agreement with Tokyo.

Many people on the Korean Peninsula share bitter memories of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, and historical disputes haunt the relationship.

The two countries wrangle over ownership of rocky islets in the sea, and Tokyo has rejected talks on compensating comfort women, who were forced by Japan to be military sex slaves during World War II.

"Despite the two countries' disputes on historical issues, the US hopes they will form a bond and beef up their military alliance with the US," Huang said.

ROK Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on May 17 canceled a trip to Japan and said his government would carefully consider whether to conclude the agreement, days after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and ROK President Lee Myung-bak endorsed major progress on the issue on May 13.

AFP and Reuters contributed to this story.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn