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S. Korea, Japan formally sign military intelligence pact

Xinhua, November 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Korea and Japan on Wednesday formally signed a military intelligence pact despite public and parliamentary oppositions.

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Yasumasa Nagamine signed the deal, called General Security of the Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), in the defense ministry's headquarters in Seoul.

The pact to directly exchange military intelligence on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile programs will go into effect immediately after notifications to each other's governments.

The signing came less than a month after resuming talks on the pact. Seoul and Tokyo held the first working-level dialogue earlier this month.

South Korea has hurriedly pushed the accord as part of efforts to find a breakthrough by regaining support from conservative voters sensitive to security issues.

South Korea's three main opposition parties have opposed the hurried, unilateral push, saying they will propose the impeachment of the defense minister if it is signed.

Public objections are strong. According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, 59 percent opposed the deal with Japan unrepentant of its brutalities during World War II. The Korean Peninsula was colonized by the Imperial Japan from 1910 to 1945. Enditem