Japan, U.S. defense chiefs confirm Tokyo-Seoul intel pact vital

Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper agreed on Monday that the military cooperation between Japan and South Korea is vital for regional security, including their intelligence-sharing pact, which is set to expire this weekend, according to a Defense Ministry official.They held a bilateral meeting in Bangkok a day after Kono and his South Korean counterpart Jeong Kyeong Doo met, but failed to bridge the gap over how to maintain the General Security of Military Information Agreement, also known as GSOMIA, which Seoul has been refusing to renew despite the l…READ FULL ARTICLE