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Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo speaks at an audit of the ministry by the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee

During a meeting with his South Korean counterpart on Oct. 20, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani made a comment implying that South Korea’s sovereignty only applied south of the DMZ, the South Korean government finally admitted.

Not only did the South Korean Defense Ministry fail to mention this important remark during its briefing on the results of the meeting, but it told reporters inquiring into the matter after the Japanese briefing that no such remark had been made. It was not until the next day that it finally admitted it.

Along with controversy about a deliberate cover up by the government, this is increasing doubts about the South Korean government’s response to the issue of Japan exercising the right to collective self-defense.

“During his meeting with the South Korean Defense Minister on the previous day, Nakatani noted that the scope of South Korea’s effective control applies to the area south of the armistice line and said that this was why there needed to be close cooperation between South Korea, the US, and Japan. He said that he wanted to keep discussing this in the future,” a South Korean Defense Ministry official said during a press briefing at the Ministry‘s office on Oct. 21.

Nakatani’s remark appeared to be a rebuttal to a remark by South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo that the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) had to receive permission from South Korea before entering North Korean territory. The remark was a sensitive one since it suggested that, during a crisis on the Korean Peninsula, the question of Japanese forces entering North Korea could be a topic of discussion but did not require prior approval.

But during the press briefing on the previous day, the Ministry omitted the aforementioned remarks about the area south of the armistice line and only mentioned the part about close cooperation between the three countries. Nakatani’s remarks came to light when an official at Japan’s Defense Ministry discussed the background of the meeting to Japanese reporters in Seoul after the meeting took place.

When asked on Oct. 21 why it had concealed the remarks, an official at South Korea’s Defense Ministry avoided the key point under dispute. “It took us a while to make this public because we were confirming the exact remarks on the meeting transcript. Nakatani’s remarks were focused on emphasizing the importance of cooperation between South Korea, the US, and Japan,” the official said.

The Ministry‘s hush-hush attitude could play into the hands of Japan, which hopes to bring the Korean Peninsula within the range of the JSDF, some say.

One official at the Ministry explained that South Korea and Japan had agreed in advance not to make the remarks public. But Japan broke this nondisclosure agreement by making public the military autonomy of the JSDF in regard to North Korean territory.

Japan’s strategy was to make this an accomplished fact. Trusting Japan on the nondisclosure agreement, the South Korean government ended up being stabbed in the back.

When the Ministry fails to disclose sensitive information like this and provokes accusations that it is conducting closed-door negotiations, it can provoke distrust and suspicion about government policy.

“Since South Korea’s relations with Japan are a sensitive and emotional issue for the public, the government needs to conduct them transparently, even if this is difficult, and build a public consensus,” said a former government official in the area of diplomacy and security.

It’s important to bear in mind that Japan made clear that it intends to keep open the possibility of sending the JSDF to North Korea in the event of a crisis on the Korean Peninsula. There are even concerns that Koreans may again have to watch as Japanese forces are deployed to the Korean Peninsula regardless of the wishes of the Korean people, just as happened at the end of the Joseon Dynasty.

The South Korean government intends to discuss this issue through the framework of the Defense Trilateral Talks between South Korea, the US, and Japan. “While we cannot compromise on our territorial sovereignty, there are several practical issues that necessitate cooperation and deliberation with Japan. We will make sure the position of the South Korean government is reflected in these deliberations,” a Defense Ministry official said.

However, given that North Korea, as a member state of the United Nations, is an independent sovereign state according to international law, many suggest that the territorial claim to North Korea in South Korea’s constitution is unlikely to be persuasive to other countries.

“We need to persuade Japan by pointing out that inter-Korean relations are a special relationship internal to the Korean people as specified in the North-South Basic Agreement and that the issue of North Korea has a direct effect on South Korea’s security environment,” said Cho Se-yeong, a guest professor at Dongseo University.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer, and Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent

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