ROK pulls back from ending pact with Japan
SEOUL - The Republic of Korea will suspend the expiry of a critical military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, Seoul said on Friday, just hours before the pact was due to expire as the two US allies row over history and trade.
Kim You-geun, a national security official at Seoul's presidential Blue House, confirmed the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, would not be allowed to lapse at midnight.
"The Japanese government has expressed their understanding," he said.
The suspension of the expiry date comes on the condition that the GSOMIA can still "be terminated at any time", he said.
The expiry of the pact would have intensified discord between the ROK and the United States, which does not want the dispute between its two Asian allies to undermine security cooperation.
Seoul gave Tokyo notice in August that it would end the pact after Japan imposed restrictions on the export to the ROK of materials necessary for its semiconductor and display industries.
At the root of their dispute is anger stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
In the lead-up to the scheduled expiry, both sides have been intransigent, with Seoul saying Tokyo must lift its trade restrictions first. Japan has called for the security agreement to be maintained.
"Unless there's a change in Japan's attitude, our position is we won't reconsider," ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told parliament on Thursday.
Kang Gi-jung, senior secretary for ROK President Moon Jae-in, said on Thursday that the Japanese government was refusing to acknowledge its mistake, and instead expected Seoul to "wave a white flag".
"So progress is not really going well," the Yonhap news agency cited Kang as saying.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said on Thursday that an end to the agreement would not have a direct impact on Japan's security, but it could send the wrong signal to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Speaking before the ROK's announcement, Kono said that he thought Seoul would make a "sensible decision".
The GSOMIA was sealed in 2016 after a yearslong US push for a better joint response to North Korea's growing military threat.
US troops
Washington had been unusually strident in its criticism of Seoul's stance, which has not been the only source of tension in their relationship.
On Tuesday, US negotiators broke off talks after Seoul rejected a US demand that it increase its share of the cost of maintaining 28,500 US soldiers in the ROK.
US President Donald Trump has insisted that the ROK pay more - and has suggested pulling the troops out - but the US on Thursday denied a news report that it was considering cutting troop numbers.
Kang, asked earlier if ending the GSOMIA risked harming the alliance with the US, said the decision was made "solely within the context" of Japan ties.
Seoul has pledged to continue security cooperation with Tokyo, including via the 2014 Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement. But that is limited to information on Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, whereas the GSOMIA covers broader intelligence.
Agencies - Xinhua
(China Daily 11/23/2019 page8)
