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South Korean Move on Intelligence Pact Hurts U.S., Pentagon Official Says

South Korea notified Japan of plans to withdraw from their framework for exchanging classified military information.

South Korean Move on Intelligence Pact Hurts U.S., Pentagon Official Says
The Pentagon is seen past the National 9/11 Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

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U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper urged Japan and South Korea to end their escalating feud, in the latest indication that the Trump administration was concerned that the spat was damaging America’s regional alliance network.

Esper said Wednesday he was disappointed in the dispute, shortly after his top aide for the region, Randall Schriver, warned that South Korea’s decision last week to withdraw from an intelligence sharing pact threatened U.S. security interests. The administration issued the unusually blunt rebuke, even though the South Korean government had earlier in the day urged the U.S. to tone down its criticism.

“I was, and remain, very disappointed that both parties are engaged in this,” Esper said in the highest-level U.S. comments since Seoul’s decision. “I expressed that to my counterparts as I met with them in Tokyo and Seoul. And of course, encouraged them, urged them to work it out between them.”

South Korea notified Japan of its plans to withdraw from their three-year-old framework for exchanging classified military information last week. The move came despite the urging of U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, for the two U.S. allies to work together amid shared security challenges from China, North Korea and Russia.

South Korea’s decision shows the growing stakes for the feud between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which has escalated from diplomatic sniping to trade measures that could threaten global supply chains. While the impact of withdrawing from the intelligence pact wasn’t clear, it underscored the hurdles that Washington faces in getting the countries to work together on regional security initiatives.

Schriver, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said in Washington that adversaries may be trying to take advantage of the fissure. A recent joint air patrol by Russia and China was “a direct challenge to our three countries in an attempt to take advantage of the current frictions in relations,” he said adding, “it is critical, now more than ever, to ensure that there are strong and close relations between and among our three countries.”

Earlier Wednesday, Seoul summoned Japanese ambassador to South Korea for discussions and sought Washington to refrain from public comments over Seoul’s decision to withdraw from the intelligence pact. Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young delivered the request personally to U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris, the Yonhap News Agency of South Korea reported Wednesday, citing a source.

“‘Disappointment’ is a diplomatic expression that the United States uses publicly when there are policy differences with an ally or a partner,” South Korean presidential security adviser Kim Hyun-chong said at a news briefing on Wednesday, adding that dropping out of the deal gives Seoul an opportunity to upgrade its military alliance with the U.S. by “taking the initiative in strengthening our own capabilities.”

Mending Fissures

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said during a visit to Ottawa last week that “we’re urging each of the two countries to continue to engage, to continue to have dialogue” so they “can begin to put that relationship back in exactly the right place.”

The U.S. has “been active” diplomatically in trying to resolve the standoff between the two countries and will “continue to engage in that,” Schriver said in his remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

South Korea held out the prospect that it could reconsider the decision if Japan withdrew its recent move to remove South Korea from a list of trusted export countries. The intelligence-sharing pact will expire Nov. 23 if not renewed.

“To be a mediator entails both sides wanting you to mediate,” Schriver said. “I think our approach is going to be to keep both sides to the extent possible forward-looking” as the U.S tries to address “important security challenges” unfolding in Asia, including the competition with China, he said.

--With assistance from Jon Herskovitz.

To contact the reporters on this story: Glen Carey in Washington at gcarey8@bloomberg.net;Shinhye Kang in Seoul at skang24@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert

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