[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Is Joint Training with the Japan Self-Defense Forces Possible?

Full-Scale Discussions on Korea-US-Japan Joint Exercises Following Korea-US Summit
Training Considered Around Korean Peninsula Due to Public Sentiment Constraints

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] As North Korea's provocations are expected to continue, South Korea, the United States, and Japan are likely to strengthen joint military exercises. However, it remains uncertain whether the South Korean military and the Japan Self-Defense Forces can train together.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden also declared at their summit that they would strengthen "joint exercises around the Korean Peninsula." Accordingly, from this month, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan will engage in a hectic relay of diplomatic efforts. Since North Korea is expected to provoke around early this month when the 5th plenary meeting of the Workers' Party Central Committee is held, diplomatic moves seem to be accelerating.

First, on the 3rd, Kim Gun, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Peace Negotiation Headquarters on the Korean Peninsula, Sung Kim, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, and Funakoshi Takehiro, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met. Following that, Cho Hyun-dong, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wendy Sherman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, and Mori Takeo, Administrative Vice Minister of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will hold vice ministerial talks in South Korea about seven months after their last consultation in Washington in November of last year.

Minister Park Jin plans to visit Washington, D.C. this month to meet with Secretary Blinken and then stop by Japan on his way back to hold talks with Foreign Minister Hayashi. Subsequently, Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop is coordinating plans to hold bilateral and trilateral meetings separately from the multilateral Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) in Singapore this month with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Japan's Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo.

The common agenda in these diplomatic efforts is cooperation in response to North Korea. While diplomatic cooperation is expected, military cooperation is also likely to be strengthened. Military cooperation could include South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercises and the deployment of U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula.

The issue is the feasibility of South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercises. Given public sentiment in South Korea, it seems practically impossible for the Japan Self-Defense Forces to conduct military exercises in South Korean territory.

It appears the South Korean military is aware of this, stating that "we are not considering South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercises." Unless there is a very special occasion that rapidly improves South Korea-Japan relations, conducting South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercises would be a significant political burden for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

Military Frictions Between South Korea and Japan Persist
Incident of Low-Altitude Flight Threat by Japanese Maritime Patrol Aircraft
Friction Over Rising of the Rising Sun Flag at the International Fleet Review
Criticism of the Military Information Protection Agreement as a Secret Deal

Military frictions between South Korea and Japan have not ceased. A representative incident was the low-altitude flight threat by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft in the East Sea and South Sea in December 2018 and January 2019. At that time, Japan's Ministry of Defense claimed that "the South Korean Navy destroyer Gwanggaeto the Great activated a fire control radar (STIR), which could be considered a step just before attack, targeting the P-1 patrol aircraft of the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the East Sea," demanding an apology and measures to prevent recurrence from South Korea.

Due to public sentiment in South Korea, Japanese warships have often been unable to even enter domestic ports. The Japan Self-Defense Forces' ships first entered Busan Port in 1996, the first time ever, and later entered Incheon Port in 2007. In 2009, a Japan Self-Defense Forces ship entered Donghae Port to participate in the South Korea-Japan joint search and rescue exercise (SAREX).

Besides that, the Japan Self-Defense Forces' ships participated in the international fleet review hosted by the South Korean Navy in Busan in 2008. However, they did not participate in the fleet review held in Jeju Island in 2018 due to friction over the raising of the Self-Defense Forces flag bearing the Rising Sun design.

Friction also continued regarding the Military Information Protection Agreement. When the Lee Myung-bak administration pushed for the South Korea-Japan Military Information Protection Agreement in 2012, it was later revealed that the matter was handled secretly at the State Council meeting, causing a major controversy. The agreement was canceled before signing. In 2014, the Ministry of National Defense's disclosure of the agreement's conclusion also sparked controversy. At that time, all parties in the National Assembly criticized it as a "secret deal."

However, by expanding the joint exercise area to "around the Korean Peninsula," South Korea, the U.S., and Japan may be able to conduct joint exercises outside the Korean Peninsula. Especially as the so-called "new Cold War" structure linking China-Russia-North Korea and the U.S.-Japan-South Korea becomes clearer, the justification has become more evident.

Last month, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). This is the 17th military provocation this year. However, China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for additional sanctions following North Korea's resumption of ICBM test launches, causing the resolution to fail. This demonstrated the China-Russia-North Korea alliance line.

A government official said, "There are many issues to resolve between South Korea and Japan, but regarding North Korea, there is a military justification to train with Japan," adding, "We need to find a way to conduct exercises around the Korean Peninsula with the consent of the public."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.