cooperation

South Korea’s proposed cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is aimed at enhancing their own respective contributions to global peace and stability, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday, in its first response to recent concerns by Russia over what it described as growing military cooperation between Seoul and NATO.

“Cooperation between South Korea and NATO is aimed at strengthening each side’s capabilities across various sectors, including defense industry, new technologies and cybersecurity, so as to reinforce each side’s role and contribution to international peace and stability,” the ministry told Yonhap News Agency in a written statement.

“In addition, our government continues to hold necessary communication with the Russian side to stably manage South Korea-Russia relations and protect our people and companies,” it added.

Russia’s foreign ministry has expressed displeasure over Seoul’s deepening military cooperation with NATO, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.

“The Russian side expressed serious concern over Seoul’s growing drift toward NATO, as demonstrated, among other things, by the Republic of Korea’s practical steps to deepen military and military-technical cooperation with NATO, the consequences of which pose a threat to Russia’s security,” the ministry said in a statement Thursday.

Moscow further argued that Seoul’s growing cooperation with NATO made it a “de facto participant in NATO’s qualitative and quantitative rearmament process, as the alliance has openly declared its preparations for war with Russia.”

The Russian statement came after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung attended the NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month as one of the alliance’s four Asia-Pacific partners, marking his first appearance at NATO’s annual top-level gathering.

At a NATO summit defense industry forum, Lee proposed elevating South Korea-NATO defense cooperation to a “Korea-NATO Defense Industry Partnership 2.0″ to expand cooperation beyond weapons system transactions to joint research, production and operation in the defense sector.

“Our government is pushing for cooperation with various countries and international organizations, including NATO, under its principle of pursuing practical diplomacy centered on national interests,” the foreign ministry said.

Still, it added, “The country will continue to closely work with the international community while closely monitoring the related developments, as the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia are issues that have a negative effect on international peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the region.”

Pyongyang and Moscow have repeatedly and publicly reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their bilateral cooperation since signing a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty two years ago.

North Korea has also sent around 15,000 combat troops and conventional weapons to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine, Seoul’s spy agency has said.

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July 9 (UPI) — North Korea on Thursday condemned expanding military cooperation between South Korea and Japan as a “foolish act courting self-destruction.”

The criticism came in a commentary by Kang Chol Su, section chief at North Korea’s Institute of Enemy State Studies, carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

“The military nexus between Japan, a war criminal state dashing toward a military giant, and the ROK has recently got more undisguised, further endangering the security situation in the Korean peninsula,” Kang said, using the official acronym for South Korea.

He cited examples including a South Korean air force squadron refueling at a Japanese military base earlier this year, as well as a joint search-and-rescue drill held last month and recent defense ministerial talks between Seoul and Tokyo.

According to Kang, the deepening security ties are aimed at concluding a military logistics agreement that would facilitate the exchange of supplies and services between the two militaries, potentially including ammunition.

“What should not be overlooked is that the security cooperation between Japan and the ROK is directed to concluding the ‘logistic support agreement’ which provides each other with munitions including ammunition in contingency,” Kang said.

Japan has long sought such an agreement with South Korea, but Seoul has proceeded cautiously because of domestic sensitivities stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has repeatedly criticized the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a hawkish conservative who took office in February, over efforts to strengthen Japan’s military and expand its regional security role.

In February, North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun described Japan as a “war criminal nation” and warned that Tokyo’s expanding military partnerships amounted to the formation of a “de facto military alliance” with NATO members and regional countries.

Last week, Pyongyang condemned the Resolute Dragon exercise between Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marines as a rehearsal for war, accusing Tokyo of using the drills to strengthen its offensive military capabilities.

Kang said Japan’s growing security collaboration with South Korea and the United States was part of a broader effort to build a “triangular cooperation system” around North Korea’s nuclear issue, which he claimed was intended to militarily contain neighboring countries.

“The reality goes to prove once again that the DPRK’s continuous development of nuclear force and thorough exercise of its position as a nuclear weapons state are the only way to actively cope with the acute and unpredictably changing international situation,” Kang said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

The commentary followed a trilateral meeting Tuesday among the top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where they reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held talks Wednesday on ways to deepen cooperation between their countries in areas such as security and technology.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Ankara, Turkey, where Lee is participating as the leader of one of the alliance’s partner countries.

In his opening remarks, Lee stressed the importance of cooperation and exchanges between the two countries at a time of growing instability in the global security environment.

The South Korean president noted that against such a backdrop, South Korea and Norway are deepening their ties into a mutually beneficial relationship in the areas of the economy, industry, culture and defense.

“During today’s bilateral talks, I would like to discuss in depth how and in what areas we can further deepen our relations,” Lee said.

The Norwegian prime minister noted that the two countries have made progress in bilateral ties since last year, referring to what he described as important decisions in the defense industry that he said would help elevate bilateral ties into a strategic partnership.

In January, South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace Co. secured a large-scale deal to supply Norway with Chunmoo artillery systems and guided missiles.

The Norwegian prime minister noted the two countries have witnessed progress in cooperation on security, trade and technology, and said he hoped to use Wednesday’s meeting to discuss ways to further deepen their ties.

Lee expressed hope that the two countries would further strengthen cooperation in advanced defense technologies and the broader defense industry, building on Norway’s trust in South Korean weapons systems, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said later.

The president cited new renewable energy, shipbuilding and maritime affairs as areas in which he hopes South Korea and Norway could achieve tangible cooperation, according to Kang.

Lee also called for the Norwegian government’s cooperation with a South Korean delegation currently visiting Norway to secure additional supplies of Norwegian mackerel, a staple food in South Korea.

Kang said the Norwegian prime minister also voiced hope for stronger cooperation in the maritime and energy sectors, as well as for elevating bilateral ties to a higher level by strengthening cooperation in key areas.

In addition, the two leaders agreed to exchange visits at mutually convenient times while pledging to continue close communication on ensuring peace and stability in the international community, Kang added.

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A congressional panel in the United States has rejected an effort to revoke a provision from the defence budget that would further integrate the US and Israeli militaries.

An amendment to sink the pro-Israel measure, introduced by Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, failed in a voice call on Thursday in the House Armed Services Committee.

That defeat paves the way for the proposal to advance to the floor of the House of Representatives.

Khanna had argued that the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), formally called Section 224, rewards Benjamin Netanyahu at a time when the Israeli prime minister is trying to dictate US policy in the Middle East.

The progressive Democrat cited recent reports that President Donald Trump is angry at Netanyahu over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon.

“Everyone in America — whether you’re a Republican, an independent or a Democrat — says that we need to tell Netanyahu that America calls the shots, not the prime minister of any other country,” Khanna said.

“They want less cooperation and blank checks to Israel, not more. Only the United States Congress would dream up at this moment, ‘Let’s actually do more for Israel.’”

The vote on the amendment was taken by calling on committee members to say aloud either “yes” and “no”, and the “nays” clearly were more numerous. It was not recorded as a roll-call vote, which would require each member’s preference to be logged.

Section 224 would require the Pentagon chief “to designate an executive agent responsible for synchronising cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel”.

That official would be in charge of overseeing several joint initiatives, “including bilateral defence technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation”, the NDAA reads.

Netanyahu’s endorsement

Critics have raised concern that Section 224 may make US military aid to Israel more opaque, concealing the assistance as cooperation rather than a separate expense.

The measure also risks tethering the US military to its Israeli counterpart technologically at a time when the American public is rapidly turning against Israel, according to recent public opinion polls.

“As political pressure builds to reduce US military assistance to Israel, Section 224 provides the framework for continuing — and expanding — US-Israel military ties by entrenching Israeli technology within the US defense supply chain in a way that would shield it from the annual appropriations process,” the nonprofit lobbying group A New Policy said in a brief last week.

“The use of must-pass legislation as the NDAA as a mechanism of integration speaks to the plummeting popularity of continuing unconditional support to Israel.”

The measure comes as Netanyahu pushes to transform US aid to Israel from direct assistance to military “cooperation”.

The Israeli prime minister wrote a letter to Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman endorsing a bill facilitating that transition.

In the letter, Netanyahu said, “The time has now arrived for us to move from aid recipient to partner.”

He added he supported Stutzman’s plan for a “new framework of joint defense cooperation, codevelopment, coproduction and mutual investment in areas including advanced missile defense, artificial intelligence … and next generation military platforms”.

Referencing the letter on Thursday, Khanna argued that Section 224 “directly” follows Netanyahu’s language.

“I am for Team America. I am for the interests of this country, and I believe that when Donald Trump ran, he ran ‘America First’,” the Democrat said.

“That includes American interests against any foreign country. We should have American sovereignty and make it clear that we strike 224. If we want to give aid to Israel, if we want to sell them weapons, that should be a vote for the entire Congress.”

But both Democrats and Republicans pushed back against his argument, saying that the provision aims to streamline existing cooperative programmes that benefit the US.

Key Democrat backs Section 224

Congressman Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the panel, said he was “very sympathetic” to Khanna’s frustration with Netanyahu.

“Mr Netanyahu insisted on this war with Iran that has strengthened Iran and weakened our position. I do not like his leadership of Israel or where he is going,” Smith said.

But he added that it is in the US’s interests to have deep military ties with Israel, a country accused by leading rights groups and United Nations investigators of committing genocide in Gaza.

“The reason that we have these partnerships with Israel, where we may not have as many developed partnerships with other NATO countries, is because Israel has actually been having to fight,” Smith said.

“They have faced drone attacks and missile attacks. They have had to develop new technologies, technologies that we’ve benefitted from.”

Rights advocates often decry the promotion of Israel’s weapons as “battle-tested” — because they have been tested on the Palestinian and Lebanese communities that they devastated, killing tens of thousands of people along the way.

Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian rights advocates warned against approving Section 224 during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

“It is unfathomable that this is the American response to a country that has, over the past two and a half years, carried out a genocide against Palestinians and started wars in both Iran and Lebanon,” said Margaret DeReus, the executive director at the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU).

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has promised to introduce an amendment to revoke Section 224 when the NDAA goes to a full House vote.

Takaichi signs six agreements with Vietnam, including on technology, agriculture and space, during a trip to Hanoi.

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says the country will boost ties with Vietnam, with a focus on energy and critical minerals.

Takaichi met her Vietnamese counterpart, Le Minh Hung, on Saturday in Hanoi, where they signed six agreements on issues ranging from infrastructure to agriculture to space cooperation.

“The two sides identified economic security as a new priority area for bilateral ‌cooperation,” Takaichi told reporters after the meeting.

“With regard to critical minerals … both sides agreed to strengthen close coordination to ensure stable supplies and reinforce supply chains,” she added.

Hung said the two leaders also “reaffirmed the importance of resolving disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful means based on international law”.

Japan and Vietnam share concerns about China’s territorial claims in the East and South China Seas, and both have sought to hedge against United States-driven trade disruptions by broadening economic and security ties.

Crude oil supplies

The push for deeper cooperation between the two states comes after ⁠new investment in Vietnam from Japan, one of its largest foreign investors, fell about 75 percent year-on-year to $233m in the first quarter, even as bilateral trade rose 12.3 percent to $13.7bn over the same ⁠period, according to Vietnamese government and customs data.

Vietnam ⁠has been seeking support from Japan and other countries ⁠for oil supplies as conflict in the Middle East drives prices higher and disrupts supply chains.

Under the $10bn Power Asia Initiative to support Asian countries’ energy self-reliance, Japan will assist in arranging crude oil supplies ⁠for Vietnam’s Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, Hung said.

Takaichi was also set to meet President To Lam, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, on Saturday afternoon and deliver ⁠a keynote speech at Vietnam National University, marking a decade since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy.