South Korea and Japan discussed the possibility of a military-logistics support agreement on Sunday, Seoul’s defense chief said, adding that Seoul remains cautious about the politically sensitive pact.
– “It requires the understanding and persuasion of the citizens of both nations, and I believe we should still proceed with caution,” Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told reporters after meeting his counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi at the Shangri-La Dialogue of regional defence officials in Singapore on Saturday.
– Ahn was referring to a potential acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, which would allow neighbouring U.S. allies Seoul and Tokyo to share and mutually procure military logistics such as fuel, food and ammunition.
– South Korea has been cautious about a deal, given persistent grievances over Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule and public resistance to the possibility of Japanese troops operating on the Korean Peninsula.
– Calls to Japan’s Ministry of Defense and Prime Minister’s Office seeking comment went unanswered outside business hours.
– Meanwhile, the Japanese defense ministry said in a statement that Koizumi and Ahn discussed conducting a joint humanitarian search and rescue exercise in June, for the first time in about nine years.