Seoul has talked enough with US on intelligence pact - Official

TOKYO, Aug 23 (KUNA) -- South Korea said Friday it has consulted with the US adequately on the fate of a bilateral pact with Japan on sharing military intelligence, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"It's true that the US hoped for the extension of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA)," South Korea's Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Hyun-chong was quoted as saying at a press briefing in Seoul.
Asked if the US really showed "understanding" on it, Kim only reiterated that the allies had "sufficient communication and consultation" with each other on the matter.
"The South Korean government maintained close communications with the US in the course of reviewing the conflict with Japan as well as GSOMIA," he said. His remarks come as the US has voiced "strong concern" and "disappointment" over Seoul's decision to discard the key tool for strengthening trilateral security cooperation in Northeast Asia.
Announcing the plan to terminate GSOMIA a day earlier, the presidential office said that the US" understands" South Korea's position on the basis of bilateral consultations via various diplomatic channels. But the Pentagon expressed its "strong concern and disappointment that Seoul has withheld its renewal" of the accord.
"We strongly believe that the integrity of our mutual defense and security ties must persist despite frictions in other areas," Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said. The US response added to worries about the potential negative impact to the Seoul-Washington alliance from the planned termination of GSOMIA, signed in 2016. "Our government will work to ensure that the latest decision will serve to not weaken the alliance, but actually upgrade the alliance so that it becomes even more solid," Kim said. The pact was aimed mainly at coping better with threats from North Korea. The deal was supposed to be automatically renewed every year unless either party notifies the other of its intention to terminate the agreement 90 days ahead of the end of a one-year period. Meanwhile, Kim said chances are slim that his government will reconsider the decision to ditch the GSOMIA with Japan. (end) mk.rk