Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-Back (left) and Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi on June 28 review a motorcade at the opening ceremony of their bilateral summit at the Ministry of National Defense's parade ground in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District. (Ministry's official Facebook page)

By Lee Jihae

The Ministry of National Defense will expand bilateral exchanges with Japan and boost bilateral cooperation in cutting-edge technology and science.

The ministry on June 28 said Minister Ahn Gyu-Back and Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi agreed in a bilateral summit in Seoul that day on these measures in security cooperation.

Both officials lauded the adoption of regular mutual visits and meetings, as well as the resumption of bilateral search and rescue exercises by both navies after a nine-year hiatus.

In addition, Seoul and Tokyo agreed to maintain trilateral security cooperation with the U.S. and collaboration to promote peace and stability in the region. They also pledged to promote exchanges and cooperation between their aerobatic teams -- the Black Eagles of Korea and Blue Impulse of Japan -- to boost search and rescue training for accidents at sea and ties in state-of-the-art science and technology such as artificial intelligence.

jihlee08@korea.kr