Japan reacted with disappointment to the ending of the military pact with South Korea by the neighboring country. South Korea is damaging the trustful relationship between the two countries, said right-wing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today.
The government in Seoul had surprisingly announced the day before, the three-year-old military pact with Japan no longer to extend. On the basis of which, the two US allies exchanged information about North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. However, joint cooperation with the US patronage should be maintained, said Abe. He urged South Korea to honor its „promises.“
US Department of Defense concerned
The US Department of Defense is deeply concerned about the end of the military agreement between the two major allies. It is disappointing that South Korea’s government has not renewed this momentous agreement, a Pentagon spokesman said. Cooperation on security and defense issues must be maintained despite tensions in other policies.
South Korea’s move is in the face of an increasingly escalating trade conflict with Japan. Japan had decided to take South Korea from a list of preferred trading partners. The background is a dispute over the compensation of Korean forced laborers during Japan’s colonial rule (1910-1945).
There is no mutual trust, according to the presidential office in Seoul, the decision not to extend the military agreement with Japan. Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya reacted „disappointed.“ Japan will call on South Korea to reconsider that.
