Page 190 - 2018 Defense White Paper

Defense Ministerial Meeting in 2015, the two countries’ Defense Ministers have continuously

convened bilateral talks during multilateral conferences such as the Asia Security Summit
(ASS). The Defense Ministers of the ROK and Japan held bilateral talks during the ADMM-
Plus in October 2018 as well, and agreed to continue to enhance their defense exchanges and

cooperation in a forward-looking manner.
The ROK and Japan have also been enhancing mutual understanding through defense policy
talks and foreign affairs and defense security policy consultative meetings. In March 2018, the

two countries held the foreign affairs and defense security policy consultative meeting for the
first time in three years to share their respective understanding of the Northeast Asian security
environment and to broaden their understanding of each other’s defense policies.

However, some Japanese political leaders’ perception of history and claims of dominion over
Dokdo Island have become obstacles to the forward-looking development of the relationship
between the two countries.
The ROK will continue to cooperate with Japan for peace and stability on the Korean

Peninsula and Northeast Asia while firmly and strictly responding to Japan’s distortion of
history and unjust claims on Dokdo Island.

| Defense Exchanges and Cooperation with Russia | Russia is a key partner in the ROK
government’s New Northern Policy and an important party for cooperation with regard to
peace on the Korean Peninsula. The ROK and Russia have continued to develop their “strategic

cooperative partnership” by strengthening friendly cooperation and deepening trust between
each other through bilateral summits in September 2017 as well as June and November 2018.
In addition, the two countries have been improving mutual trust in the f ields of defense and

security. ROK defense of f icials attended the Moscow Conference on International Security
in 2017 and 2018, while communication between the two countries’ military authorities has
strengthened through various consultation channels including the chief director–level meetings

of their JCS, the joint military committee, and meetings between the services of their armed
forces.
To build trust on the military front, the two countries have been continuously reviewing the

implementation of the “ROK–Russia Maritime Accident Prevention Agreement” signed in
1994 while seeking to install hotlines between their air forces in accordance with the “ROK–
Russia Prevention of Dangerous Military Activities Agreement.”

188 Chapter 5 Development of the ROK–U.S. Alliance, and Expansion of Defense Exchanges and Cooperation