Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik: “Resumption of military exchanges between Korea and Japan is essential for Korea-Japan security cooperation”
Yomiuri reported on the 24th that Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said, “South Korea-Japan security cooperation is essential and we will resume and restore military exchanges between Korea and Japan,” and that “Japan should understand that loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts are for the sake of human rights and peace.”
In an interview with Yomiuri on the 22nd, Minister Shin said, “In June, we agreed with Japanese Defense Minister Kihara on measures to prevent a recurrence of the 2018 incident involving radar inspection of the Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft on a Korean ship.” “We will resume exchanges and restore various communication channels,” he said of the resumption of military exchanges between Korea and Japan, and a summary of the interview was reported that day.
Regarding military exchanges between Korea and Japan, Minister Shin said, “Korea also maintains the ROK-US alliance to protect its own security, but if Japan does not support it, the survival of the ROK-US alliance will weaken and it will face various problems.” “We are considering signing an ACSA (Mutual Provision of Goods and Services Agreement) that will allow the Korean military and Self-Defense Forces to mutually supply fuel, etc.”
Regarding security cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan, Minister Shin said, "South Korea, the United States, and Japan are facing common security threats, and when considering supply chain reorganization and economic security, the importance of joint response at the Korea-Japan, Korea-U.S.-Japan level has become greater than ever." “If there is no document, the security cooperation between the three countries may change depending on the regime or domestic political circumstances. We will make it irreversible through the document, and the three countries (Ministers of Defense) will sign it and move forward based on it,” he said. The strategy for building a security system was revealed.
Yomiuri separately reported Minister Shin's long remarks about Korea-Japan military cooperation in an interview. Minister Shin's remarks reported by Yomiuri are as follows.
<Korea and Japan are not allies, but they have something in common: they are allies of the United States. South Korea and Japan have different positions, but security cooperation is an area without controversy. I think the people of Korea and Japan agree with this statement. Cooperation between the two countries is indispensable in terms of geopolitical, security, and economic conditions.
Now, Korea is a bastion of freedom that protects the world from forces that threaten freedom and peace by changing the status quo by force, including North Korea. What would happen to Japan's security without Korea and the ROK-US alliance? The fact that Korea is at the forefront is very reassuring for Japan.
Korea also maintains the ROK-US alliance to protect its own security, but if Japan does not support it, the survival of the ROK-US alliance will weaken and it will face various problems. In particular, in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, the rear base of the United Nations Command in Japan is very important in maintaining the ability of the ROK-US alliance to continue combat.>
Minister Shin said, ‘President Biden declared his withdrawal from the presidential race. In response to a question about the impact of former President Trump's re-election, he said, "There is no significant difference in the essence of the ROK-U.S. alliance, and if security cooperation between Korea, the U.S., and Japan and solid defense exchanges between Korea and Japan are supported, security cooperation between Korea, the U.S., and Japan will be possible." “We will continue to move forward regardless of the results of the U.S. presidential election,” he said, identifying military exchanges between Korea and Japan as a key link in the security system.
Regarding the ‘Nuclear Operation Guidelines’ in July, Minister Shin said, “The ROK-US alliance has been upgraded to a nuclear alliance in name and reality,” adding, “If North Korea carries out a nuclear attack, North Korea will immediately and overwhelmingly take a decisive response that cannot be tolerated.” “And what is overwhelming means that the North Korean regime is coming to an end.”
When asked, ‘How will we respond to China?’, Minister Shin said, “The main principle is the ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ agreed upon at the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit last year. “If we do that, we must establish the principle that we must respond jointly,” he said.
In an article on Minister Shin's interview, Yomiuri criticized him for "false peace that relies on the enemy's good will" and "poses a greater threat to Korea's security." It is interpreted that such remarks were made with the Trump administration's policy toward North Korea in mind.>