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S.Korea to initial military intelligence pact with Japan next week despite opposition

Xinhua, November 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Korea plans to sign a provisional military pact next week with Japan to share intelligence on the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) despite public and parliamentary oppositions to the hush-hush deal.

Seouls defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun told a press briefing on Friday that South Korea and Japan would initial the bilateral intelligence-sharing accord during the upcoming meeting around next week.

The two countries resumed talks on the accord, holding the first working-level dialogue on Nov. 1 in Tokyo. The second meeting was held in Seoul on Wednesday, and the third one is expected to be held in Tokyo next week.

South Koreas foreign ministry asked the legislative office on Wednesday to deliberate on the military pacts legality, according to local media reports. If necessary internal procedures are passed smoothly, the deal is forecast to be formally signed in late November.

Former President Lee Myung-bak pushed the pact in 2012 on the direct exchange with Japan of military intelligence on the DPRKs nuclear and missile programs.

However, the attempt failed at the last minutes amid a public outcry over the hurried, closed-door deal without any social consensus and parliamentary consultations.

Many South Koreans still see such a deal with Japan as unacceptable as the Japanese leadership has yet to sincerely apologize for its militaristic history. The country was colonized by the Imperial Japan between 1910 and 1945.

The Park Geun-hye administration, which is grappling with the presidents confidante scandal, is repeating a hush-hush attempt to sign the deal without any social consensus as public attention is being centered on the scandal involving Parks decades-long friend and key former aides.

The main opposition Minjoo Party said Thursday that it will propose the resignation of Defense Minister Han Min-koo if the push for the military pact with Japan continues in defiance of oppositions from the public and the parliament.

The military intelligence deal with Japan is widely forecast to assist the U.S. pivot-to-Asia strategy and the Japanese ambition to become a regional military powerhouse, together with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment in South Korea.

Seoul and Washington agreed in July to install one THAAD battery in southeastern South Korea by the end of next year, sparking public and parliamentary objections to unilateral push without social consensus. Enditem