South Korea and Japan agreed on Jan. 30, 2026, to resume joint naval search-and-rescue exercises, Seoul's defense ministry said, marking the first such drills since 2017. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japan's Shinjiro Koizumi met at Yokosuka and pledged personnel and unit exchanges, cooperation on artificial intelligence and space, and regular ministerial visits. The measures aim to deepen defense ties and enhance coordination on regional security.
Key Points
- 1Agree to resume joint naval search-and-rescue exercises after nine years; last conducted in 2017.
- 2Highlight expanding defense cooperation, including personnel exchanges, AI and space collaboration, and regular ministerial talks.
- 3Enable improved bilateral coordination for humanitarian drills and reinforce trilateral security cooperation with the United States.
Scoring Rationale
Official bilateral defense agreement and resumed drills boost regional ties; limited technical or AI-specific detail reduces broader impact.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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