ID :
378752
Mon, 08/31/2015 - 01:43
Auther :

S. Korea Military to Join SDF Fleet Review in October

Tokyo, Aug. 30 (Jiji Press)--The South Korean military is planning to join a fleet review of Japan's Self-Defense Forces for the first time, a Japanese government source said Sunday. The fleet review is scheduled for Oct. 18 on Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. Maritime SDF ships will be present at the fleet review to be observed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe will deliver an address to SDF troops. Also, the MSDF and the South Korean navy are expected to conduct a joint drill on the high seas in October on search and rescue activities in maritime accidents. The two sides' previous such drill, the eighth of its kind, was carried out west of the southwestern Japan island of Kyushu in December 2013. The joint drill began in fiscal 1999. Then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the disputed Sea of Japan islands of Takeshima in 2012 stalled bilateral defense exchanges, but Japan and South Korea agreed to resume such exchanges when their defense ministers held the first talks in four years, in Singapore in May this year. During the talks, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani requested the South Korean military's participation in the joint drill and fleet review. Promoting bilateral defense cooperation is aimed at contributing to helping improve relations between the two countries. Behind the resumption of their defense exchanges is a push from the United States, which has called on the two countries to improve relations. Washington underlines the trilateral alliance with the two countries as North Korea continues its nuclear and missile development programs. In 2012, however, Japan and South Korea gave up signing their general security of military information agreement due to opposition from the South Korean public. With the two countries still at odds over territorial and history issues, it is uncertain whether bilateral defense exchanges will expand smoothly. END

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