国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Japan govt confirms intel-pact with S. Korea to continue after Seouls 11th ho_时事

国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Japan govt confirms intel-pact with S. Korea to continue after Seouls 11th ho

TOKYO, Nov. 22 -- The Japanese government said Friday that an intelligence-sharing pact with South Korea will not be ended, with Seoul in the 11th hour before the pact was to expire informing Tokyo that its had conditionally suspended its prior decision to end the agreement.

The General Security of Military Information Agreement, known as GSOMIA, is a bilateral military intelligence-sharing accord signed between both countries in November 2016, which has enabled the two neighbors to share military information.

The accord comes up for renewal each year, but can be cancelled by either party giving notice by Aug. 24, which South Korea had done prior to its sudden reversal Friday.

Japan had been urging South Korea not to cancel the pact and had called on South Korea to "act prudently" regarding the pact, with Seoul suggesting its decision to scrap the pact could be reviewed if Japan undoes its tightening of export controls on South Korea.

Japan's trade ministry has said it will hold a policy dialogue with Seoul on its tighter screening of exports to South Korea, with the talks being conducted at bureau-chief level, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported Friday evening.

Japan's trade ministry reportedly agreed to the meeting owing to South Korea expressing a new commitment to its monitoring of trade.

But while Seoul has announced a halt to the dispute-settlement process at the World Trade Organization, the trade ministry here said that the agreement to hold talks on export controls is not necessarily directly connected to Friday's announcement by Seoul to temporarily extend the intel-pact with Tokyo, sources close to the matter here said.