ARTICLE: Seoul and Tokyo Close Ranks in the Face of the North Korean Threat

A Search and Rescue Exercise Unseen in a Long Time

One of the most concrete outcomes of this meeting is the joint maritime search-and-rescue exercise to be held this month between the South Korean Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force—the first operation of its kind in nearly nine years, according to NHK. The two ministers hailed this resumption as a tangible step forward, far beyond mere declarations of intent.

This resumption is accompanied by a commitment to further develop such exercises, covering various maritime accident scenarios—an area where concrete operational cooperation often matters more than official rhetoric.

Aerobatic teams: a symbol of growing people-to-people ties

Another sign—this one more symbolic—is that the two countries have agreed to continue exchanges between their respective aerobatic teams, South Korea’s Black Eagles and Japan’s Blue Impulse. While this gesture has no major strategic significance, it helps normalize the image of bilateral military cooperation in the public eye in both countries.

It is often the most modest gestures—such as joint aerobatic flights—that do the most to defuse decades of mutual mistrust between two neighboring peoples.

The Logistics Agreement That Never Got Off the Ground

Several analysts have noted one detail: the joint statement did not address the conclusion of a Cross-Servicing and Procurement Agreement, nor did it formalize Japan’s refueling support for South Korean military aircraft, according to the Fault Lines newsletter. This omission is not an oversight, but reflects Seoul’s caution in light of the persistent historical sensitivity of South Korean public opinion toward Japan.

This restraint illustrates the current limits of the rapprochement: technical cooperation is moving forward, but deeper, structural commitments remain hampered by very real domestic political considerations.

A Deliberate, Step-by-Step Approach to Diplomacy

According to Korea Pro, this gradual, cautious, almost discreet approach is part of a deliberate strategy: to build solid defense cooperation without provoking a domestic outcry, in a country where the historical wounds of the Japanese occupation remain fresh in the collective memory.

It takes political courage to move forward despite these historical scars, but it also takes clarity to recognize that the North Korean threat will not wait for those scars to heal completely.

Trilateral coordination that underpins the entire approach

The two ministers emphasized the need to continue both bilateral and trilateral cooperation with the United States—a triangle that remains the backbone of regional security in Northeast Asia. This three-way framework is not new, but it has taken on renewed importance in light of the growing strategic alignment between North Korea and Russia.

Washington views this closer Japan-South Korea relationship as validation of its own regional strategy, which for years has urged its two allies to overcome their bilateral differences to form a more united front against common threats.

A U.S. Ally Gaining Strategic Coherence

This rapprochement reflects a growing strategic maturity among two democracies that share, with the United States, a vital common interest: containing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and deterring any Chinese military adventurism in the Indo-Pacific region.

A West that helps two allies—historically wary of one another—to come together rather than tear each other apart is exactly the kind of quiet diplomacy that deserves to be celebrated more often.

A Repeated Commitment That Is Losing Operational Credibility

Let’s be honest: the repeated assertion, meeting after meeting, of the goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is beginning to look more like a diplomatic ritual than a realistic short-term prospect. Pyongyang, for its part, now treats its nuclear status as a fait accompli, according to the analysis in the Fault Lines bulletin.

This contradiction does not prevent the two ministers from continuing to include this goal in their joint statements, in part to maintain diplomatic consistency vis-à-vis their respective publics and international partners.

South Korea’s Deliberate Caution on the Issue

South Korean media coverage itself has placed less emphasis on the issue of denuclearization than the international press, a choice that reflects President Lee Jae-myung’s strategy of engagement toward Pyongyang, where the issue is becoming increasingly sensitive as North Korea remains entrenched in its positions.

Repeating a goal that one knows is becoming increasingly unattainable is not necessarily hypocrisy: sometimes it is simply a refusal to abandon a principle, even when reality stubbornly contradicts it.

A message sent to Beijing as much as to Pyongyang

This closer Japan-South Korea relationship sends a clear signal that extends beyond North Korea alone: China is closely monitoring any consolidation of the U.S. security architecture in the region, which it perceives as a direct constraint on its own ambitions in the Western Pacific.

For Western capitals, every step forward in this bilateral cooperation is good strategic news, strengthening a network of democratic alliances in the face of an increasingly cohesive authoritarian bloc comprising Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang.

Limitations That Should Not Be Ignored

It would, however, be an exaggeration to portray this meeting as a definitive historic turning point. The absence of a binding logistical agreement, persistent reservations among the South Korean public, and domestic political uncertainty in Japan serve as a reminder that this relationship remains fragile, built step by step rather than through a decisive leap forward.

I prefer to celebrate real but modest progress rather than artificially inflating every diplomatic meeting into a historic turning point—something that happens far too often in this kind of coverage.

Colonial Wounds That Still Run Deep

It is impossible to discuss this rapprochement without recalling the burden of Japan’s occupation of Korea between 1910 and 1945, a period that continues to weigh heavily on South Korean public opinion, even several generations later. Every step toward military rapprochement with Tokyo must navigate this history, which explains Seoul’s constant caution in formalizing structural agreements.

President Lee Jae-myung’s administration must therefore walk a tightrope: strengthening security cooperation without giving the impression of selling out the nation’s historical memory—a political balancing act that explains the measured pace of progress on this issue over the years.

One cannot expect a people to erase decades of historical resentment in one fell swoop simply because regional geopolitics demands it today, and it is to Seoul’s credit that it recognizes this.

Another Step in the Right Direction for the West

The June 28 summit between Ahn Gyu-back and Shinjiro Koizumi confirms a trend that has been underway for several years: that of a gradual but genuine rapprochement between two East Asian democracies that are essential to regional stability. At a time when North Korea, China, and Russia are strengthening their own ties, every step forward between Seoul and Tokyo serves as a welcome strategic counterweight for the West and its allies.

It remains to be seen whether this momentum will survive the upcoming political milestones in both countries, and whether it will ultimately lead to structural agreements—particularly in the area of logistics—that diplomatic goodwill alone is not yet sufficient to bring about.

Constant Vigilance Is Essential

Neither Seoul nor Tokyo can afford to let this budding cooperation falter. The North Korean threat shows no signs of abating, and the growing alignment between Pyongyang, Beijing, and Moscow calls for a coordinated, patient, yet resolutely determined Western response.

This kind of patient rapprochement, without much media fanfare, is often more solid in the long term than alliances proclaimed with great fanfare through spectacular press releases.

By Maxime Marquette, columnist