Japan and South Korea have renewed their bilateral defence and cooperation pact to maintain stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The defence ministers of both countries, Ahn Gyu-back (South Korea) and Shinjiro Koizumi (Japan), met last Sunday to discuss the issue of the North Korean nuclear threat and military ties with Russia, whilst agreeing to cooperate on developing artificial intelligence projects and unmanned systems (drones) during annual exercises, according to Reuters.
"Both ministers agreed on the need to continue cooperation to maintain regional peace and stability amidst a serious security environment", the South Korean Ministry of Defence stated in a press release.
South Korea and Japan have been moving in the same direction for some years now, whilst gradually overcoming the disputes and differences arising from the two nations' troubled colonial past. Issues such as relations with the current US administration, the main defence ally of both countries, have also been discussed.