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▼ ROK, Japan, US Sign Deal To ‘Institutionalize’ Military Ties Against North Korea
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Expert says lack of formal treaty could jeopardize cooperation despite effort to protect against leadership changes
South Korea, Japan and the U.S. signed an agreement to solidify defense cooperation on Sunday, seeking to further bolster trilateral ties in the face of North Korean threats and Pyongyang’s increasing cooperation with Moscow.
But while the agreement seeks to institutionalize trilateral ties against leadership changes, an expert expressed concern that the lack of a formal treaty could still jeopardize cooperation in the future, particularly given historical tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.
Defense ministers Shin Won-sik, Minoru Kihara and Lloyd Austin signed the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework (TSCF) during their first-ever joint meeting in Tokyo, with the agreement immediately going into effect.
“The TSCF institutionalizes trilateral security cooperation among defense authorities, including senior-level policy consultations, information sharing, trilateral exercises and defense exchange cooperation,” the U.S. Department of Defense stated, without revealing the text of the agreement.
At the summit, the defense leaders reportedly discussed the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, citing their signing of a mutual defense pact in June, and “condemned the DPRK’s recent diversification of nuclear delivery systems.”
Seoul and Tokyo also took the opportunity to discuss increasing reciprocal visits by their defense ministers, renewed exchanges between the chiefs of staff of the ROK armed forces and their Japanese counterparts and the resumption of regular consultation mechanisms and unit exchanges between the two countries’ ground, naval, and air forces.
Additionally, the two nations agreed to resume joint search and rescue exercises (SAREX).
In a separate one-on-one meeting, Kihara discussed with Austin “how to reinforce extended deterrence in order to promote regional stability and deter the outbreak of conflict,” according to another statement from the Pentagon, though details of the discussion were not shared.
Since the Camp David summit in Aug. 2023, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up their military cooperation, which had long been troubled by strained ties between South Korea and Japan. Since then, the three countries have participated in several trilateral military exercises, including the Freedom Edge multi-domain aerial and naval exercises that started last month.
As part of the summit, South Korea and Japan also bilaterally decided to implement an annual plan for ROK-Japan military cooperation, according to a ROK defense ministry press release. The meeting between Shin and Kihara marked the first visit of a ROK minister of defense to Japan in 15 years.
Suon Choi, an associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, called the agreement “significant” in accelerating the partnership between the countries. She told NK News that the annual plan for ROK-Japan defense exchanges is part of the two sides’ trust-building efforts.
Ban Kil-joo, a professor at the Ilmin International Relations Institute at Korea University, emphasized to NK News that the agreement reflects South Korea’s efforts to reinforce its alliances within the democratic bloc in response to North Korea’s expanding ties with Russia and Belarus, as well as its efforts to form a coalition of like-minded states.
The expert noted that enhanced defense cooperation between South Korea and Japan serves as a crucial strategic deterrent against North Korean provocations, noting that relying solely on distant allies without securing regional support would be impractical.
He also predicted that such cooperation would be “unsettling” for North Korea, as it will present a new strategic challenge and become a form of “integrated deterrence” against Pyongyang.
But Ban explained that the new bilateral and trilateral announcements can be perceived as government-to-government agreements rather than a formal treaties, which makes it susceptible to shifts in political leadership.
The conservative Yoon administration’s efforts to improve cooperation with Japan have been the target of criticism in South Korea, where progressives tend to take a harder line toward Tokyo over historical disagreements stemming from Japan’s colonial rule of the peninsula.
When questioned about the lack of legally binding provisions in the agreements on Monday, a spokesperson for the ROK defense ministry said the current form of trilateral cooperation “is a starting point.”
“I cannot predict what might happen in the future, but currently, this cooperation memorandum serves its necessary role,” the spokesperson said.
To mitigate these vulnerabilities, Ban of Korea University said further institutionalization of interactions between South Korea and Japan is needed.
“This involves regularizing the scale and frequency of exchanges, such as routine high-level meetings between defense officials, mutual visits by military units, and establishing consistent communication channels.”
South Korea, Japan and the U.S. signed an agreement to solidify defense cooperation on Sunday, seeking to further bolster trilateral ties in the face of North Korean threats and Pyongyang’s increasing cooperation with Moscow.
But while the agreement seeks to institutionalize trilateral ties against leadership changes, an expert expressed concern that the lack of a formal treaty could still jeopardize cooperation in the future, particularly given historical tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.
Defense ministers Shin Won-sik, Minoru Kihara and Lloyd Austin signed the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework (TSCF) during their first-ever joint meeting in Tokyo, with the agreement immediately going into effect.
“The TSCF institutionalizes trilateral security cooperation among defense authorities, including senior-level policy consultations, information sharing, trilateral exercises and defense exchange cooperation,” the U.S. Department of Defense stated, without revealing the text of the agreement.
At the summit, the defense leaders reportedly discussed the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, citing their signing of a mutual defense pact in June, and “condemned the DPRK’s recent diversification of nuclear delivery systems.”
Seoul and Tokyo also took the opportunity to discuss increasing reciprocal visits by their defense ministers, renewed exchanges between the chiefs of staff of the ROK armed forces and their Japanese counterparts and the resumption of regular consultation mechanisms and unit exchanges between the two countries’ ground, naval, and air forces.
Additionally, the two nations agreed to resume joint search and rescue exercises (SAREX).
In a separate one-on-one meeting, Kihara discussed with Austin “how to reinforce extended deterrence in order to promote regional stability and deter the outbreak of conflict,” according to another statement from the Pentagon, though details of the discussion were not shared.
Since the Camp David summit in Aug. 2023, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up their military cooperation, which had long been troubled by strained ties between South Korea and Japan. Since then, the three countries have participated in several trilateral military exercises, including the Freedom Edge multi-domain aerial and naval exercises that started last month.
As part of the summit, South Korea and Japan also bilaterally decided to implement an annual plan for ROK-Japan military cooperation, according to a ROK defense ministry press release. The meeting between Shin and Kihara marked the first visit of a ROK minister of defense to Japan in 15 years.
Suon Choi, an associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, called the agreement “significant” in accelerating the partnership between the countries. She told NK News that the annual plan for ROK-Japan defense exchanges is part of the two sides’ trust-building efforts.
Ban Kil-joo, a professor at the Ilmin International Relations Institute at Korea University, emphasized to NK News that the agreement reflects South Korea’s efforts to reinforce its alliances within the democratic bloc in response to North Korea’s expanding ties with Russia and Belarus, as well as its efforts to form a coalition of like-minded states.
The expert noted that enhanced defense cooperation between South Korea and Japan serves as a crucial strategic deterrent against North Korean provocations, noting that relying solely on distant allies without securing regional support would be impractical.
He also predicted that such cooperation would be “unsettling” for North Korea, as it will present a new strategic challenge and become a form of “integrated deterrence” against Pyongyang.
But Ban explained that the new bilateral and trilateral announcements can be perceived as government-to-government agreements rather than a formal treaties, which makes it susceptible to shifts in political leadership.
The conservative Yoon administration’s efforts to improve cooperation with Japan have been the target of criticism in South Korea, where progressives tend to take a harder line toward Tokyo over historical disagreements stemming from Japan’s colonial rule of the peninsula.
When questioned about the lack of legally binding provisions in the agreements on Monday, a spokesperson for the ROK defense ministry said the current form of trilateral cooperation “is a starting point.”
“I cannot predict what might happen in the future, but currently, this cooperation memorandum serves its necessary role,” the spokesperson said.
To mitigate these vulnerabilities, Ban of Korea University said further institutionalization of interactions between South Korea and Japan is needed.
“This involves regularizing the scale and frequency of exchanges, such as routine high-level meetings between defense officials, mutual visits by military units, and establishing consistent communication channels.”
- 29/7 20:04
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