{"id":36493,"date":"2026-06-29T10:31:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T07:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=36493"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T07:32:38","slug":"south-korea-and-japan-defense-ministers-agree-to-expand-security-cooperation-reaffirm-denuclearization-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/south-korea-and-japan-defense-ministers-agree-to-expand-security-cooperation-reaffirm-denuclearization-goal\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea, Japan defense ministers agree to expand security cooperation, reaffirm denuclearization goal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

5 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi met in Seoul on June 28, 2026, and agreed to deepen defense cooperation, expand military exchanges, and strengthen coordination with the United States amid growing security challenges in the region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting marked Koizumi’s first visit to South Korea as Japan’s defense minister and the sixth round of defense talks between the two countries. It also reflected continued efforts by Seoul and Tokyo to improve security ties despite longstanding historical disputes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the talks, the two ministers agreed to enhance cooperation in several areas, including joint search-and-rescue exercises, military exchanges, and advanced defense technologies such as artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also pledged to continue strengthening bilateral defense cooperation while expanding trilateral coordination with the United States to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea’s defense ministry said both ministers shared the view that cooperation should continue “amid a grave security environment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Commitment to Denuclearization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major outcome of the meeting was the reaffirmation of both countries’ commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministers agreed to continue working together toward that goal through bilateral cooperation and closer coordination with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"North<\/a>
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a test of “Hwasong-16Na” intermediate-range ballistic missile. (Image Credit: KCNA)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The renewed commitment comes as North Korea continues to expand its nuclear weapons and missile programs. North Korea has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state and has shown no sign of abandoning its nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has recently pledged to further strengthen the country’s defense capabilities, including equipping its navy with nuclear weapons, building larger warships, and continuing missile development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these developments, Seoul and Tokyo said they remain committed to pursuing a denuclearized Korean Peninsula through continued cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Korea remains technically at war with South Korea because the Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Expanding Military Cooperation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two ministers agreed to further develop joint maritime search-and-rescue exercises for various emergency scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, South Korea and Japan resumed joint maritime search-and-rescue drills for the first time in nine years, marking a significant step in rebuilding military cooperation between the neighboring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also agreed to continue exchanges between their air force aerobatic teams, South Korea’s Black Eagles and Japan’s Blue Impulse, to strengthen military ties and improve coordination during humanitarian and emergency operations.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Japanese<\/a>
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back salute to national flags during a welcoming ceremony before their meeting at the Defence Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, on June 28, 2026. (Image Credit: Reuters\/Kim Hong-Ji\/via X)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In addition, Seoul and Tokyo agreed to increase cooperation in advanced science and technology, including artificial intelligence, building on previous discussions on AI and unmanned defense systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministers also discussed broader regional security and reaffirmed their commitment to working together to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Japan-South Korea Ties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relations between South Korea and Japan have steadily improved since 2022 with support from the United States, as both countries seek closer cooperation in response to North Korea’s growing military capabilities and changing regional security dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The policy has continued under South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who have expanded cooperation in defense, diplomacy, energy, and the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, the two governments agreed to strengthen security cooperation with Washington to address North Korea’s nuclear threat and its growing military ties with Russia. Their cooperation also includes annual trilateral military exercises and collaboration on emerging defense technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense contacts have increased in recent months. Ahn visited Japan in January, while both ministers met again during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May, where they discussed a possible military logistics support agreement covering fuel, food, and ammunition.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"South<\/a>
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hold their summit meeting in Nara, western Japan, on January 13, 2026. (Image Credit: Reuters\/Issei Kato)<\/sup><\/em>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Historical Issues Remain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the recent progress, several historical disputes continue to affect relations between the two countries. Military cooperation has long been complicated by issues stemming from Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, South Korea moved to terminate the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) after Japan imposed export restrictions on key semiconductor materials and removed South Korea from its list of preferred trading partners. The dispute was linked to broader disagreements over historical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other unresolved issues include compensation for Korean women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Territorial disputes also remain a source of tension. Earlier this year, South Korea protested a Japanese government event commemorating the disputed islands known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan. The islands are controlled by South Korea but claimed by both countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these differences, Seoul and Tokyo have continued expanding practical defense cooperation, reflecting their shared concern over North Korea’s advancing military capabilities and the increasingly challenging security environment in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"South<\/a>
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung at the start of their summit meeting in Nara, western Japan, on January 13, 2026. (Image Credit: Reuters\/Issei Kato)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi met in Seoul on June 28, 2026, and agreed to deepen defense cooperation, expand military exchanges, and strengthen coordination with the United States amid growing security challenges in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,1],"tags":[490,137,380,6,46,408,184,5,96,108,113,235],"class_list":["post-36493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-news","tag-ai","tag-asia","tag-asia-pacific","tag-defense","tag-japan","tag-korean-peninsula","tag-maritime","tag-military","tag-north-korea","tag-nuclear","tag-security","tag-technology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Japan-South-Korea-defense-ministers-meeting.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-9uB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36493"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36509,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36493\/revisions\/36509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}