On November 23 at 00:01 o'clock the so-called GSOMIA agreement for the information exchange between Japan and South Korea should expire. To the chagrin of the allied governments in Tokyo and Washington, South Korea announced that it would not renew the agreement. It makes possible, for example, direct exchange about the weapons of the North Korean regime.
Now, the leadership in Seoul has changed their minds: South Korea will stick to the agreement for the time being. The Bureau said Friday that the August announcement to Japan that it would no longer extend the agreement expiring at midnight was no longer effective. Seoul will temporarily suspend the termination of the agreement.
Japan and South Korea have been involved for months in a dispute over the common past. This is about the fate of the Korean forced laborers under the Japanese occupying power. Japan had occupied the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
Earlier, the US called on its two allies to extend the agreement. The US is very worried about the economic and political quarrels between Tokyo and Seoul.
