▲ 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 2025, in this file photo provided by the defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-Japan-defense talks

Defense chief calls for forward-looking ties in talks with Japanese defense minister

YOKOSUKA, Japan, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Friday called for forward-looking relations between South Korea and Japan as he held talks with his counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, in the Japanese port city of Yokosuka.

Ahn and Koizumi met at the Yokosuka base of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force to discuss regional security cooperation, and ways to deepen their bilateral defense cooperation and exchange. The port city is also home to the U.S. 7th Fleet.

"I hope the talks will serve as an opportunity for South Korea-Japan relations to take a major step forward," Ahn said in his opening remarks, stressing the need to confront the past, assess the present and move forward to the future.

In response, Koizumi underscored the importance of bolstering their defense cooperation.

"A new door for defense cooperation between Japan and South Korea has opened," he said, noting how Friday's talks mark the first defense ministerial meeting to take place in Yokosuka, his hometown.

"Defense cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and also with the United States is becoming more important than ever," he said, noting how the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed the "strategic importance" of their bilateral relations in recent summit talks.

Koizumi also noted how the recent refueling of the South Korean Air Force's Black Eagles team at an air base in Okinawa opened a "new era" in their defense cooperation.

On Wednesday, the Black Eagles team made a layover in Okinawa en route to Saudi Arabia in a bid to refuel and hold an exchange event with Japan's aerobatic flight team.

It marked the first time Japan's air self-defense forces provided refueling for South Korean Air Force aircraft.

Ahn and Koizumi last held bilateral talks in early November on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur, 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 visit marks the first 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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