[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] South Korea, US, and Japan to Share Missile Information

Ministry of National Defense "Consulting Among Three Countries"... Expanding from Alert Information to Intelligence

South Korea, the United States, and Japan are discussing a plan to share North Korean missile information in real time. Since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the three countries have agreed to share ‘missile warning information’ in real time, and now they are expanding the scope of military cooperation to include ‘missile information.’

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 9th, a Ministry of Defense official said, “The three countries are discussing a plan to share North Korean missile information in real time, but nothing has been specifically decided yet.”

‘Missile warning information’ covers the launch point, flight direction, and impact point, while ‘missile information’ is a broader concept that includes detection and tracking information, engagement information, and more. For the three countries to share missile information in real time, the command and control systems such as radars used by the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, United States Forces Korea, Japan Self-Defense Forces, and United States Forces Japan would connect through the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, enabling South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to share information immediately.

To exchange missile information, the three countries are expected to make maximum use of existing frameworks, including the ‘Trilateral Information Sharing Agreement’ (TISA) decided at the Security Meeting (DTT) last April. TISA, concluded in 2014, works by South Korea delivering North Korean nuclear and missile information it collects to the U.S. Department of Defense, which then passes it to Japan’s Ministry of Defense after obtaining approval from the South Korean government.

Earlier, at the trilateral summit held in Phnom Penh last November, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan agreed to share North Korean missile warning information in real time and have been discussing specific implementation measures.

When asked whether the defense ministers of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan would address this issue during the Asia Security Conference (also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue) scheduled to be held in Singapore from July 2 to 4, a former spokesperson only said, “The agenda and schedule are being coordinated.”

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