Korean Minister of Defense Ahn Gyu-back had talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi in Seoul, June 28.
Mr. Koizumi is on a 2-day visit to South Korea, in which the parties agreed to find ways to strengthen defense cooperation.
Seoul and Tokyo "reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the establishment of long-term peace, and agreed to continue bilateral cooperation... as well as trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States," the South Korean Ministry of National Defense stated in a statement about the bilateral meeting.
The meeting of the Ministers of National Defense of South Korea and Japan took place a few weeks after South Korea and Japan for the first time held joint maritime search and rescue exercises after 9 years. The move is considered another step towards closer bilateral defense cooperation.
The meeting also took place after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced that he would strengthen the country's defense capabilities, including equipping the navy with nuclear weapons and promoting missile tests.
In early June, Kim Jong Un announced that North Korea would equip its navy with nuclear weapons and build larger warships.
Technically, North Korea is still at war with South Korea because the Korean War ended with a ceasefire agreement rather than a peace treaty.
