[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Rapid Progress in Korea-US-Japan Intelligence Sharing... What Is the Method?

Trilateral Defense Ministers Meeting of Korea, US, and Japan to be Held in Singapore Next Month
Real-Time Information Sharing System Expected to Operate in the Second Half of the Year

The three countries of South Korea, the United States, and Japan are discussing a plan to share North Korean missile warning information next month, drawing attention to whether a real-time information sharing system will be operational from the second half of the year.

Jeon Ha-gyu, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a regular briefing on the 22nd in response to related questions, "Necessary consultations are underway regarding specific implementation plans," adding, "At the DTT (Security Meeting) held last April, we reviewed ways to maximize the use of existing information systems, including TISA (Information Sharing Agreement), so please understand it as an extension of that."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The three countries are expected to agree on a plan to share North Korean missile warning information at the South Korea-U.S.-Japan Defense Ministers' Meeting held at the Singapore Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) in early next month. Subsequently, specific plans are expected to be discussed at the trilateral summit in Washington proposed by President Joe Biden the day before. In this case, there is a prospect that the real-time warning information sharing system could be operational as early as the second half of the year.

Warning information includes the launch origin, flight direction, altitude, speed, and expected impact point of missiles fired from North Korea’s transporter erector launchers (TEL) and submarines. Currently, South Korea and the U.S. share warning information in real time through the Republic of Korea Military Operational Control Center (KTMO-CELL) and the U.S. Forces Korea Operational Control Center (TMO-CELL), and the U.S. and Japan also operate a real-time sharing system. However, such a system has not been established between the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Some quarters are also mentioning the possibility of Japan’s participation in the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) separately from the warning information. The logic is that to internationalize North Korea’s actual nuclear threat and pressure even China and Russia, at least Japan and Australia should participate first.

However, our government is dismissing the possibility of Japan’s participation in the NCG. Vice Minister Shin Beom-cheol said on CBS Radio, "I understand that Japan also wants to create something like the NCG between South Korea and the U.S., but it is not yet clear how far discussions between Japan and the U.S. have progressed," adding, "It seems unlikely that Japan will suddenly be included in the NCG at the next summit."

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