Tokyo and Seoul agree to share intelligence on North Korea despite protests
Seoul — Japan and South Korea signed a controversial agreement on Wednesday to share defence intelligence on North Korea, despite big protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul. South Korea’s main opposition party called the deal "unpatriotic and humiliating" and threatened to impeach Defence Minister Han Min-Koo if it went ahead. But South Korea’s defence ministry said the accord was "necessary" with mounting military threats from Pyongyang, which conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year. "It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said. "Since we can now utilise Japan’s intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea’s escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests." Japan’s foreign ministry said the military agreement would enable the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly". Seoul and Tokyo have been using Wash...
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