Japan, U.S. and South Korea agree to share North Korea missile data in real-time

Japan, U.S. and South Korea agree to share North Korea missile data in real-time

Tokyo, The Gulf Observer: Japan, South Korea and the United States have agreed to work toward launching a system to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches “within the next few months,” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Saturday.

The measure — the latest in a series of trilateral moves in response to the growing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea — comes amid a thaw in once-chilly ties between Tokyo and Seoul.

Hamada made the remarks after a trilateral meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue regional security conference in Singapore.

“At this meeting, we confirmed the progress of our study on the real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data and agreed to make further progress toward the launch of initial operations within the next few months,” Hamada told reporters. “The specific details and the timing of the operational launch are still being worked out, but we will make every effort to achieve this at the earliest possible time.”

Speaking separately after the trilateral meeting, Lee said the real-time data sharing system could begin operations “within this year,” the Yonhap news agency reported.

Media reports have said that Japan and South Korea are planning to link their radars via a U.S. system, providing Tokyo with real-time data in a move that would improve its detection capabilities as the North continues to fire off missiles at an unprecedented clip — including a failed launch of a rocket carrying the country’s first military spy satellite earlier this week.

Leaders of the three countries agreed in November to work toward real-time data sharing on North Korean missiles, something they said would be “a major step for deterrence, peace and stability.”

“While actively implementing the agreed-upon measures between the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan, the three countries agreed to elevate security cooperation to another level,” Lee was quoted as saying.

“Especially regarding the real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data, we decided to connect the respective information sharing systems — one run between South Korea and the United States and the other between Japan and the United States — and operate the combined one within this year,” he said.

Working-level talks on the issue are expected soon, he added.

The real-time data-sharing would see radar and command-and-control systems used by the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces in Japan connected to the South Korean military and American forces there via the Hawaii-based U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Doing so would bypass the thorny issue of two nonallied countries — Japan and South Korea — sharing delicate information instantly, since they would be doing it via their mutual ally, the U.S.

Hamada also said that the three countries had agreed to conduct “regular” military drills, including anti-submarine warfare exercises and missile-defense drills “to strengthen the three countries’ response to the North Korean nuclear and missile threat and to deter such threats in a multifaceted manner.”

Years of chilly ties between Tokyo and Seoul have warmed in recent months under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, especially in the security arena as North Korea has showcased increasingly powerful missiles capable of evading defenses in both countries.

The North’s failed space rocket launch Thursday highlighted the growing concern among the three countries after it briefly triggered emergency alerts in Okinawa Prefecture and Seoul.

In bilateral talks in Tokyo on Thursday, Hamada and Austin strongly condemned the launch as a threat to peace and stability in the region. Pyongyang confirmed that the rocket carrying its first military satellite had crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff, but pledged to make another attempt “as soon as possible.”