South Korea and Japan have agreed to hold annual defense ministerial talks, reaffirming their commitment to closer security cooperation amid a deteriorating regional security environment, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Friday.
According to the ministry, the agreement was reached during a meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro in Tokyo on Friday.
The ministry said the ministers underscored "the importance of advancing bilateral defense exchanges in a stable and predictable manner." As part of those efforts, they agreed to regularize mutual visits by defense chiefs and enhance communication between their defense authorities.
Ahn arrived in Japan on Thursday for a three-day visit. The talks came about five months after Koizumi visited Seoul in September last year.
During the meeting, the two ministers shared the view that closer cooperation is necessary to maintain regional peace and stability amid growing security challenges.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to sustain trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan.
The proposed cooperation includes expanded personnel exchanges between the South Korean Armed Forces and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, as well as continued discussions on collaboration in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, uncrewed systems and space-related capabilities.
Seoul and Tokyo have sought to deepen bilateral relations in recent years. Traditionally, their ties have gone back and forth over historical grievances rooted in Japan’s 1910–45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and recurring disputes over Tokyo’s stance on wartime history, as well as a territorial dispute over the Dokdo islets.
Bilateral security cooperation faced a major setback in the late 2010s, when strained ties nearly led to the termination of the General Security of Military Information Agreement, an intelligence-sharing framework between the two countries. Despite those tensions, security coordination has since been maintained — and in some areas expanded.
Relations gained renewed momentum during the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, amid US efforts to strengthen trilateral coordination in the Indo-Pacific region and growing recognition of the need for closer cooperation in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear threat. Since 2023, South Korea, the US and Japan have conducted joint air drills near the Korean Peninsula.
More recently, Japan approved a request by the South Korean Air Force to refuel aircraft from the aerobatic team Black Eagles earlier this week as the team traveled to Saudi Arabia for the World Defense Show 2026, scheduled for Feb. 8–12. A similar refueling plan had been canceled in November after Japan raised concerns over a Black Eagles flight near Dokdo during preparations for the Dubai Airshow.
Friday’s meeting took place 16 days after President Lee Jae Myung visited Japan and met with Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in Tokyo.
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