S. Korea Rejects Trilateral Anti-Submarine Drill With US, Japan

South Korea has rejected US and Japanese proposal to conduct trilateral anti-submarine warfare exercise aimed at countering North Korea’s submarines, Japanese media reported Tuesday.

South Korean side opposed the suggestion saying that it was not the right time for the drills, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.

The drills were supposed to be conducted on the basis of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) signed by Tokyo and Seoul on November 23, 2016 to create the framework for both protection and sharing of secret military information.

The proposition to hold the submarine hunting drill was made in a meeting of senior defense officials from Japan, the United States and South Korea in Seoul on Dec. 16.

Japan and the United States accepted this response and the three nations agreed to come up with an outline for joint exercises involving all of them at some point.