Date: June 28, 2026 l Reporter: James Twins
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and Japan have reaffirmed their shared commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula while agreeing to deepen defence cooperation, marking another step toward strengthening security ties amid growing regional tensions.
The agreement was reached during talks in Seoul between South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, in the sixth round of bilateral defence ministerial meetings. The two sides pledged to work together to address the increasingly challenging security environment in Northeast Asia.
The ministers agreed to revive joint humanitarian search-and-rescue exercises, which had been suspended in recent years, and to expand military exchanges between South Korea's Black Eagles aerobatic team and Japan's Blue Impulse demonstration squadron. They also discussed closer logistical cooperation between their armed forces, including arrangements for fuel and supply support during joint activities.
In a joint statement, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula despite North Korea's continued expansion of its nuclear and missile programs. The ministers emphasized that closer cooperation would be pursued both bilaterally and through their trilateral security partnership with the United States.
The meeting comes as North Korea continues to advance its military capabilities, with leader Kim Jong Un recently vowing to further strengthen the country's nuclear arsenal and modernize its armed forces. Seoul and Tokyo have increasingly viewed closer defence coordination as essential to addressing evolving regional security threats.
Relations between South Korea and Japan have improved significantly since 2022 after years of diplomatic friction rooted in historical disputes dating back to Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Successive meetings between senior officials have helped restore security cooperation while expanding economic and diplomatic engagement between the two U.S. allies.
Despite the progress, longstanding disagreements remain unresolved, including competing claims over the Dokdo/Takeshima islets and differing views on wartime history. Earlier this year, tensions briefly resurfaced after a Japanese government event related to the disputed islands drew criticism from Seoul.
Both governments nevertheless stressed that maintaining dialogue and expanding practical defence cooperation are essential for promoting peace, stability, and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.