Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop: "Participation in Japan's Fleet Review Depends on Security Situation"

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop attended the full meeting of the National Defense Committee held at the National Assembly on the 31st and presented the proposed budget for next year. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop stated on the 31st that the decision to participate in the fleet review to be held in Japan next month was made considering the security situation and international customs.

Minister Lee attended the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Defense Committee on the same day and explained the government's decision to participate in the fleet review, saying, "We placed the greatest emphasis on the security aspect and also considered the dimension of realizing shared values in the international community."

Regarding participation in the fleet review, in response to a question from Justice Party lawmaker Bae Jin-kyo about whether there had been any discussions related to Japan's low-altitude threat flights by patrol aircraft in 2018, he said, "There were no talks with Japan about the patrol aircraft issue linked to participation in the fleet review." He added about how to handle the patrol aircraft issue, "We plan to consider it comprehensively in the context of overall Korea-Japan relations and proceed with decisions in connection with normalization."

Earlier, on the 27th, our Ministry of National Defense announced that it had decided for our naval vessels to participate in the international fleet review to be held in Japan on November 6, together with the Navy.

The Ministry of National Defense explained the reason for attending the fleet review by stating that Japan's Rising Sun Flag and the Self-Defense Force flag are different forms, and the Self-Defense Force flag has been officially accepted by the international community.

A Ministry of National Defense official responded to criticism that Japan's Rising Sun Flag and the Self-Defense Force flag are the same by saying, "The forms are different. The Self-Defense Force flags also vary by vessel. Since they do not completely match, we consider them as Self-Defense Force flags."

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