Tokyo, Seoul to link up radar systems to monitor the DPRK
A spokesperson of the South Korean Defense Ministry announced that the three countries have been in talks to boost information sharing but nothing has been finalized.
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A view of a test launch of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile April 14, 2023 (KCNA)
Japan and South Korea agreed to cooperate in monitoring the DPRK's ballistic missile programs by integrating their radar systems to share real-time information, Reuters reported citing an anonymous informed source.
Both South Korea and Japan are independently linked to the US radar systems, but not to each other's. This new initiative aims to intensify security cooperation between the US and its allies in the Pacific against the DPRK.
A spokesperson of the South Korean Defense Ministry announced that the three countries have been in talks to boost information sharing but nothing has been finalized.
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Despite public resentment by South Koreans against Japan for their refusal to acknowledge past crimes, Washington has exerted strained efforts to bring the countries together to solidify their alliance against DPRK, which they identified as a mutual "threat".
The United States and South Korea have, in turn, been boosting their defense cooperation, staging a series of major military exercises including two trilateral drills involving Japan this year.
But they are soldiering to do more. At their summit last month, Biden and Yoon announced the Washington Declaration, which bolsters the US nuclear umbrella over South Korea, and they vowed to speed up trilateral cooperation with Japan.
