After years of discussions, Tokyo and Seoul have agreed to share defense intelligence on North Korea's nuclear program. But opposition parties have decried the pact, saying it recognizes "Japan's military rise."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Yeon-Je
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Japan and South Korea on Monday signed a preliminary deal to share defense intelligence concerning North Korea's nuclear and missile activities, despite resistance from opposition parties and activists.
"It is important that Japan and South Korea cooperate to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile issues," said Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga.
North Korea has tested nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles in the face of sanctions and UN Security Council resolutions, sparking concerns in the region.
The Japanese foreign ministry said a third round of discussions led to a tentative pact, and paved a way for an agreement to be signed. The agreement's parties expected to sign it in 2012, but Seoul backed out due to domestic hostility to the pact.
The Tokyo-based Kyodo news agency reported that the final signing of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) will likely take place by the end of November.
Faces of the Korean War
Uprooted and dislodged - the lives of millions of people were marked by the Korean War. Families were torn apart. To date, it remains unclear how many people were killed in the fighting.
Image: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Abandoned in the rubble
The armistice agreement on July 27, 1953 marked the end of almost three years of war. In September 1950, all alone, this girl cries desperately in the ruins of Incheon. The child's identity is unknown. Shortly before this picture was taken, American troops had retaken the South Korean city from North Korean troops. At this stage of the conflict it all pointed to a South Korean victory.
Image: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Caught between the lines
This family's hut is located in the border area between the warring North and South. By the summer of 1951, the conflict had become static, taking place mainly along the 38th parallel.
Image: Claude de Chabalier/AFP/Getty Images
A constant flow of refugees
These North Korean refugees try to escape the fierce battles that have been raging on since 1951. On their way south they pass by frozen rice fields.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Heading south
A Korean civilian carries his father on his back as they cross the Han River in 1951. Despite the counter offensive launched by UN forces to stop the Chinese and North Korean troops, Korean civilians continued to flee the northern Korean region.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Uprooted
A total of 4.5 million North Koreans left their homes because of the war and headed south or abroad. Its unclear how many people lost their lives during the three-year conflict. By the time the armistice agreement was signed in 1953, North Korea had lost half of its pre-war population.
Image: Claude de Chabalier/AFP/Getty Images
Left in ruins
Carrying her wounded grandchild on her back, this elderly woman wanders among the debris of their wrecked home in the aftermath of an air raid by US planes over Pyongyang, the Communist capital of North Korea, in the fall of 1950.
Image: Keystone/Getty Images
Foreign rescuers
A fateful encounter: In the cold of winter, US lieutenant William Doernbach comes across this Korean orphan girl in a deserted village and leaves her in the care of an orphanage. She escapes the orphanage and finds her rescuer. They reunite in May 1951.
Image: Prou/AFP/Getty Images
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'Japan's military rise'
However, South Korean opposition parties have threatened to dismiss or impeach Defense Minister Han Min-koo if the agreement is signed.
"Japan, which once occupied the Korean peninsula and enslaved Koreans with its military might, is still not admitting a lot of its past atrocities," said the opposition Democratic Party in a statement.
The deal marks "the first step towards allowing and recognizing Japan's military rise," the party added, referring to Tokyo's growing military ambitions under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
From 1910 to 1945, Japan controlled the Korean peninsula, leaving behind a legacy of brutal rule.
Relations between the two Asian nations have thawed after a landmark agreement resolved the issue of Korean women forced into sexual servitude by imperial Japan.
