Ministry of Defense
After the leaders of Japan and South Korea agreed to resume security dialogue and took steps to improve relations, the defense authorities of the two countries are stagnant in order to deal with the threat of North Korea, which is intensifying missile launches. The idea is to promote the security cooperation that had been underway.Defense authorities disagree over whether or not the South Korean military has irradiated its aircraft with radar.
A spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Defense explained at a press conference on the 16th, “Although it has nothing to do with the conscription issue, we will seek a desirable solution in consideration of restoring trust between the two countries.” At a press conference on the 14th, Chief of Staff Ryo Sakai, the head of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, also said, “The time is ripe for sorting out the issues and taking steps to restore relations.”
The problem occurred at the end of 2018, two months after the South Korean Supreme Court ruling on the former forced labor lawsuit. The Ministry of Defense protested that a P1 patrol plane of the Maritime Self-Defense Force was irradiated by a South Korean Navy destroyer with its fire control radar, which is the preparatory stage of an attack. South Korea denied the allegations, and conversely argued that the patrol planes were flying dangerously low. Defense cooperation between the two countries continued to cool down.
Sakai did not specify a specific solution at the press conference, but pointed out, “There are various approaches, such as resolving the root of the misunderstanding of facts or agreeing to prevent a recurrence.” A source close to the South Korean military said, “At the time, the dispute arose because of mutual distrust under the Moon Jae-in administration, which was friendly to North Korea. (Atsushi Kawata, Daisuke Kinoshita, Seoul)