Japan defense chief arranges to visit S. Korea in late Dec.: sources

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani is arranging to visit South Korea in late December for talks with his counterpart Kim Yong Hyun, sources close to the matter said Monday, in a sign of improving bilateral ties.

If realized, it would mark the first visit by a Japanese defense chief to the neighboring country in nine years. The previous visit in 2015 was also made by Nakatani.

The two ministers are expected to agree to enhance bilateral defense cooperation following a period of soured ties over disputes including an incident in 2018 in which a South Korean warship's fire-control radar system allegedly locked on a Japanese patrol plane.

While South Korea continues to deny the allegation, the two countries' defense ministers agreed in June this year to implement measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again, reflecting improving bilateral ties at the leaders' level in recent years.

They also affirmed at that time that the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the South Korean military will resume full-fledged high-level exchanges.

During their envisioned meeting, Nakatani and Kim are also expected to affirm trilateral cooperation involving the United States ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House in January, with the Republican president-elect known for his skepticism of alliances under his "America First" mantra.

The agenda will also likely include Pyongyang's repeated test-firing of ballistic missiles and its increasing defense cooperation with Russia, including its deployment of troops in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine.

In July, the defense chiefs of Japan, South Korea and the United States met in Japan and signed a memorandum institutionalizing their trilateral defense ties to sustain policy consultations, information-sharing on ballistic missiles and joint exercises.