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South Korea terminates intelligence-sharing treaty with Japan

Maintaining the agreement "no longer conforms with South Korea’s national interests," the high-ranking official stated

South Korean police officers standing next to a banner during a rally demanding the South Korean government to abolish the intelligence-sharing agreement between South Korea and Japan, in Seoul AP Photo/Lee Jin-man

South Korean police officers standing next to a banner during a rally demanding the South Korean government to abolish the intelligence-sharing agreement between South Korea and Japan, in Seoul

© AP Photo/Lee Jin-man

TASS, August 22. The Republic of Korea has decided to abandon the military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday, citing deputy head of the country’s National Security Council Kim You-geun.

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"The government decided to terminate intelligence sharing with Japan. Tokyo will receive the official notification through diplomatic channels," Kim You-geun said at a briefing in Seoul.

He underlined that "Japan failed to explain the reasons behind excluding South Korea from the list of trusted trade partners, citing undermined relations of trust between Seoul and Tokyo, which caused these changes in defense-related cooperation of the two countries."

Moreover, Kim You-geun announced that "maintaining the agreement signed for the purposes of sharing important military intelligence no longer conforms with South Korea’s national interests."

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