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| U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 11. South Korea and the United States are discussing a possible visit to Seoul by Austin this month. AP-Yonhap |
Trilateral security cooperation gains traction with signs of Seoul-Tokyo rapprochement
By Jung Min-ho
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to visit South Korea later this month as the allies seek to bolster deterrence against evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, an official at the Ministry of National Defense said the two countries are in talks to arrange his possible visit to Seoul, but declined to reveal details.
The comment comes after the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, reported that the Pentagon chief will hold a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup in the capital following the Lunar New Year holiday (Jan. 21-24).
His visit, if realized, will likely focus on strengthening U.S.-led security cooperation in the region, along with Japan, in order to counter threats from not just North Korea but also China. At their summit in Washington, Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to enhancing trilateral cooperation in working toward that shared goal.
The day before the summit, the South Korean government announced its solution to resolve the wartime forced labor issue that has long held back South Korea-Japan relations from moving forward. The government said it is seeking a compromise in which South Korean companies will donate funds to victims of Japan's colonial rule. South Korea's Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that Japanese companies must compensate the victims of labor exploitation. Tokyo maintains that all compensation matters were settled under a 1965 treaty that normalized relations between South Korea and Japan.
With the major obstacle expected to be cleared, trilateral security cooperation, such as real-time information-sharing about missiles launched from the North, is already gaining traction.
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| South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong speaks during a conference about Seoul-Tokyo relations at a hotel in central Seoul, Tuesday. Newsis |
In his message sent to a conference held at a Seoul hotel, Tuesday, to develop the South Korea-Japan relationship, President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to strengthen bilateral ties.
"Relations between South Korea and Japan are showing clear signs of improvement recently after going through years of ordeal," Yoon said in a statement, read by Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, calling Japan "the closest and most important neighbor" that South Korea should work with for peace and prosperity in the region.
Kishida also sent a message saying he hoped to improve frayed relations promptly through an agreement related to pending issues, such as wartime labor exploitation. He added that any attempt to change the stable international order by force is a major challenge to the world, giving examples of North Korea's weapons tests and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In an interview with the local daily, the Segye Ilbo, the defense minister said he will seek to "upgrade" the information-sharing system among the three countries to respond to threats from the North more effectively. Lee also said he will push to hold trilateral defense talks as soon as possible as intelligence reports show that the regime's next nuclear weapons test could be imminent.
Next month, South Korea and the U.S. will conduct joint military drills under a North Korea nuclear attack scenario. They are expected to include a tabletop exercise, a meeting to discuss a simulated emergency situation, and possibly involve some U.S. nuclear assets.
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