Seoul and Tokyo are on the verge of signing
a military intel-sharing pact.
There is much for both sides to gain as it
will help them better monitor North Korean
activities for possible nuclear and missile
threats.
But the journey to get there has had its obstacles.
Kim Hyun-bin trace back the steps leading
to the present development.
South Korea and Japan made their first attempt
to initiate a military intelligence sharing
agreement back in 2012, but the process came
to a halt when Korean opposition parties and
civic groups protested the pact, claiming
it had been arranged in secret.
Many Koreans are against the pact because
of the history of Japan's colonial rule of
the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945...
and lingering unresolved issues between the
two countries.
However North Korea's ever-growing nuclear
and missile threats have revived efforts to
resume the talks.
Under the tentative agreement reached in 2012,
the two countries would be able to share intelligence
on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
And experts say that may not be all.
"Since the cold war, Japan has been collecting
intelligence on Russia and China.
So we can trade intelligence not only on North
Korea's weapons of mass destruction, but also
on neighboring countries such as China and
Russia."
Japan has five intelligence satellites, six
Aegis destroyers, four ground-radar systems
and other state-of-the-art surveillance equipment
to put toward the effort.
South Korea currently shares military intelligence
with 32 countries, including the U.S. and
Russia.
Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News.
