South Korea and Japan agreed Friday to resume joint naval search and rescue exercises for the first time in nine years as they seek to strengthen defense cooperation, according to the defense ministry.
The agreement came as Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, met at the Yokosuka base of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force to discuss regional security cooperation and ways to deepen the two nations' defense cooperation and exchange.
"Both ministers concurred on activating personnel and unit exchange to boost mutual understanding and trust between the South Korean military and the Japanese Self-Defense Force," the ministry said in a joint press release, mentioning the resumption of the joint drills for humanitarian purposes as an example.
South Korea and Japan last held the maritime exercises in 2017. The drills have been stalled amid a series of incidents dampening their ties, such as a row over Japan's plan to hoist the Rising Sun Flag, a controversial flag regarded as symbolic of its past imperialism, on its vessel during a 2018 fleet review in South Korea.
In their talks, Ahn and Koizumi agreed to explore ways for cooperation in areas ranging from artificial intelligence to space to advance their defense relations in a "mutually beneficial and future-oriented" direction, according to the release.
