US-South Korea-Japan alliance fractures

Frank Smith
Press TV, Seoul

South Korea announced its withdrawal from the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, an intelligence sharing pact with Japan late Thursday. The nullification of the deal comes as Seoul and Tokyo remain locked in a trade dispute.

South Koreans were inflamed when Japan instituted export controls on key materials for the country’s hi-tech industries, following recent South Korean court decisions awarding compensation to forced laborers of Japan’s colonial enterprises. The spat continues. By scrapping the intelligence pact, Seoul makes coordination on North Korea, a key concern of Tokyo, much more difficult.

To South Korean activists, the pact seemed to only serve Washington’s interests.

South Korea Friday sought to allay US concerns over the rupture, saying it valued a strong US-South Korea alliance and would coordinate intelligence through US channels.

South Korea’s move to withdraw from the intelligence sharing agreement with Japan caught many by surprise, including US officials now expressing their disappointment. The trilateral US-South Korea-Japan alliance is seen by American officials as key to efforts to denuclearize North Korea and contain China. Meanwhile South Korea is considering inviting North Korea to an upcoming security forum.

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