News Japan-South Korean relations

The Maritime Self-Defense Force and the South Korean Navy held their first joint search-and-rescue exercise in nine years on Sunday in waters west of the Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. The exercise had been repeatedly postponed in recent years, largely due to a 2018 incident in which a South Korean naval vessel directed its fire-control radar at an MSDF patrol aircraft, sharply worsening relations between the two sides at the time. The resumption of the drill is expected to strengthen defence cooperation between Japan and South Korea as both countries deepen security coordination amid growing regional tensions.

The joint exercise started in 1999 against the background of missile firings by North Korea. The last exercise before this took place in 2017. Its restart was stipulated in a joint statement released after a meeting between defense ministers of both countries in January. The Aegis-equipped destroyer Kongo and a patrol helicopter of the MSDF participated in Sunday's exercise along with a landing ship of the South Korean Navy. They conducted a search-and-rescue exercise in a mock scenario of a fire at sea. The MSDF patrol helicopter drilled landing on the deck of the South Korean landing ship.

Click to expand...