South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi agreed on the importance of advancing defense cooperation following their meeting at the headquarters of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in Yokosuka, Kanagawa.
“The two sides agreed to resume a humanitarian search and rescue exercise between the Republic of Korea Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force,” according to a joint statement released after their talks.
The Korea–Japan SAREX program began in 1999 and had been held biennially until it was suspended after the 10th exercise in 2017. Bilateral defense cooperation stalled amid diplomatic and military tensions in 2018, including a controversy over the use of Japan’s Rising Sun flag, the naval ensign of its Maritime Self-Defense Force during an international fleet review held in Jeju, and a separate dispute involving alleged radar targeting and low-altitude flight between a South Korean naval vessel and a Japanese patrol aircraft.
The two sides had initially sought to resume the drills in November last year, but the plan fell through after Japan declined to provide aerial refueling support for South Korea’s Air Force aerobatic team, the Black Eagles, citing the team’s training flights near the Dokdo islets. The decision led to a broader suspension of defense exchanges at the time.
Following a phone call between Ahn and Koizumi on Dec. 26 last year, Japan agreed to provide refueling support for the Black Eagles, helping pave the way for the resumption of bilateral defense engagement.
The ministers also shared the view that closer cooperation is necessary to maintain peace and stability in the region amid a deteriorating security environment. They reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to continuing trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
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