The White House on Wednesday welcomed the signing of a military intelligence sharing agreement between South Korea and Japan, saying it will bolster three-way cooperation between the two allies and the US in defending against North Korea.

Earlier in the day, Seoul and Tokyo formally signed the information sharing accord, known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the first military pact between them since South Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

"This agreement will allow the ROK and Japan, two of our closest allies in the region, to significantly strengthen bilateral, and with us, trilateral cooperation on deterring and defending against the North Korean threat," the White House said in a statement.

"The United States will continue to pursue efforts toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, including implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, in close coordination with our allies in the Asia Pacific," the statement said.

Defense Secretary Carter also hailed the pact, saying it will enable increased information sharing and strengthen cooperation between "our two closest allies" in Northeast Asia.

"By sharing appropriate security information, they will enhance their deterrence posture against North Korean aggression and strengthen their ability to defend against continued missile launches and nuclear tests, both of which are explicitly prohibited by U.N. Security Council resolutions," he said in a statement.

In 2012, Seoul and Tokyo were close to a deal on sharing military information, but the negotiations ultimately fell through due to negative public sentiment in South Korea about signing such a pact with its former colonial master. Korea was a colony of Japan from 1910 to 1945.

In an effort to get around the historical hurdle, the US led efforts to conclude a trilateral military information-sharing agreement with South Korea and Japan, and the memorandum of understanding, signed in late 2014, enabled Seoul and Tokyo share intelligence via the US.

Despite the trilateral deal, US officials have called for a bilateral pact between Seoul and Tokyo as they seek to bolster three-way security cooperation with the two allies as a counterbalance to China's rise. (Yonhap)