▲ Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (R) and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, shake hands during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus held in Kuala Lumpur in November last year, in this file photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) S Korea-Japan-defense talks

(LEAD) Defense chief to visit Japan next week for talks with Japanese counterpart: sources

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SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back is expected to visit Japan next week for talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, sources said Wednesday, with the resumption of military cooperation seen as a major agenda item.

The two countries are in the final stages of arranging Ahn's possible three-day trip to Japan from Jan. 29-31 for talks with Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi, according to government sources.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun has also reported on the possible bilateral meeting, mentioning the Japanese city of Yokosuka near Tokyo -- where the U.S. 7th Fleet is based -- as a strong candidate for the venue for the talks.

The envisioned meeting comes after President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met in Takaichi's hometown of Nara earlier this month and discussed ways to deepen their bilateral ties.

The Japanese newspaper said Ahn and Koizumi also held phone talks last month where they apparently agreed to push to improve defense ties, which have been largely stalled following an Air Force refueling incident in November.

South Korean fighter jets taking part in an air show in Dubai were set to refuel at a Japanese air base, but Tokyo scrapped the plan, noting how the T-50B aircraft operated by the Air Force's Black Eagles conducted drills near the easternmost islets of Dokdo.

Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between South Korea and Japan as Tokyo continues to make sovereignty claims in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.

Ahn and Koizumi last held bilateral talks on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur in early November, where they reaffirmed the importance of their trilateral security cooperation with the U.S. in the face of advancing North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

Ahn's possible visit marks the first such trip by Seoul's defense chief to Japan in about 1 1/2 years since former Defense Minister Shin Won-sik visited Tokyo for ministerial talks in July 2024.

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