Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Kim Hyun-chong, second deputy chief of the National Security Office, announced on August 23 that the government’s decision to terminate the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between Republic of Korea and Japan was made in consideration of the national interest, after many concerns and reviews. 

“GSOMIA is aimed at the interchange of sensitive military information between Republic of Korea and Japan based on a high degree of mutual trust. Given that Japan is arguing that basic trust between Republic of Korea and Japan has already been damaged, we have lost our justification for maintaining GSOMIA,” Kim said at a press briefing, which was held at the Chung Wa Dae’s Chunchu-gwan Friday afternoon.

“We were willing to positively consider all measures for the diplomatic resolution of the compulsory manpower draft issue, truly and without prejudice, and clarified our position. However, Japan continued to disregard the issue, which is not a simple “denial” but is enough to damage our national pride, and showed a diplomatic discourtesy,” he added. 

When asked about the U.S., which had expressed strong concerns over the decision, “The government will work to make sure this decision does not weaken the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance, but rather upgrades it to a more robust level of relations. The government has frequently interacted with the U.S. while reviewing the GSOMIA issue, and consulted closely, especially via the national security councils (NSC),” he replied. 

Addressing concerns about a lack of security-related military information interchange after the termination of GSOMIA established in November 2016, Kim explained that the government will actively make use of a trilateral information sharing channel that flows through the U.S., based on the Trilateral Information Sharing Agreement (TISA) between Republic of Korea, the U.S., and Japan signed in December 2014. 

He also said that the government will actively push forward with efforts to strengthen the country’s security capability by expanding on strategic assets, including increasing the national defense budget and the military’s spy satellites. 

“The current international situation is certainly different from the past, only a few years ago. We can only prevent our potential exposure to security risks when we have a self-reliant national defense power. If we take the lead in strengthening our security capability, it will correspond to the increased contribution to the security of allies that is desired by the U.S., and will ultimately lead to a strengthened Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance,” Kim also added.

By Joo-Hyeong, Lee < jataka@dema.mil.kr >

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