Japan, S. Korea Defense Chiefs Agree on Mutual Visits

Yokosuka, Kanagawa Pref., Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his South Korean counterpart, Ahn Gyu-back, agreed to conduct mutual visits every year, at a meeting on Friday at the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The two ministers also agreed to promote exchanges between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the South Korean military and to cooperate on cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence. “Next time, I will visit South Korea to enhance communication between the two countries’ defense authorities,” Koizumi told reporters after the meeting. Koizumi and Ahn agreed to resume joint search-and-rescue drills between the MSDF and the South Korean navy, which have been suspended since a 2018 incident in which a South Korean military vessel directed its radar at an MSDF plane. They also vowed to promote three-way cooperation, including the United states, in dealing with North Korea’s nuclear and missile development. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and building permanent peace. The joint statement also called for discussions between defense authorities to seek cooperation in areas such as AI, unmanned systems and space. The Koizumi-Ahn meeting was the first defense ministers’ meeting held in the city of Yokosuka, Koizumi’s home turf. After the meeting, they played table tennis, a hobby of Ahn’s. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]