▲ This AFP photo shows Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (R) shaking hands with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back during the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Japan-defense talks

S. Korea, Japan to resume joint maritime search drills early next month: Seoul defense chief

By Kim Seung-yeon

SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan will resume their joint maritime search and rescue exercises (SAREX) starting early next month, Seoul's defense chief said Saturday, calling it a "symbolic" move that reflects improving bilateral relations.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back unveiled the plan in bilateral talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, held on the margins of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

"The SAREX drills will take place on June 7," he said in the opening remarks. "I believe the resumption of the drills after nine years carries a highly symbolic and declaratory meaning."

Launched in 1999, the biennial SAREX exercise was designed to train procedures for coordinated responses between naval ships from both countries in the event of maritime incidents in waters near the Korean Peninsula.

But the drills have been suspended since the 10th round in 2017, as bilateral ties soured following a dispute over a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft making an unusually low-altitude flyby over a South Korean warship in December 2018.

Seoul had decried the plane's approach as a "menacing" flight, while Tokyo accused the South Korean vessel of having locked its fire-control radar on the plane.

The two countries agreed to prevent a recurrence of such a spat during defense ministers' talks in June 2024 under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol government amid a dramatic warming of bilateral relations.

Ahn and Koizumi agreed to restart the drills when they met in Tokyo in January.

Ahead of their talks in Singapore, Ahn described the expanding exchanges at the defense ministerial level as "ping-pong diplomacy," calling the development yet another milestone in their bilateral ties.

Koizumi, in turn, underscored that such meetings are not taking place just out of goodwill or friendship, but "necessity" given the current security challenges shared by both countries.

"To promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, it is important for Japan and South Korea to take a leading role, including through the U.S.-Japan alliance, the U.S.-ROK alliance, and broader strategic cooperation to maintain and strengthen deterrence and response capabilities," he said through an interpreter.

The ROK is short for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.

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