SEOUL, South Korea. - After an announcement that a military pact between South Korea and Japan was likely to solidify Friday, South Korean government decided to delay the passing of the accord due to uprising demonstrations against the alliance with the former colonist.
Shin Kak-soo, the South Korean ambassador to Tokyo told the New York Times Thursday, "If things go as planned, the pact will be signed on Friday afternoon." Things did not go as planned as people took to streets protesting the partnership.
South Korean President, Lee Myung- Bak has received a lot of heat and an uproar of criticism from the opposition party as well as the people of the country as an ingrained bitterness for the former colonist is still very much persistent in the collective consciousness of the people of South Korea. Although the two countries have shared economic bonds and trade relations, this treaty comes as a major step in the international relations of the two States; it is the first military pact between the two since 1945.
Park Yong-jin, spokesman of the main opposition Democratic United Party, said "When the Lee Myung-bak government started out, it was pro-American to the bone, and as it nears the end of its term, it is proving pro-Japanese to the bone," as reported by the BBC News.
Thursday, it was declared that in light of North Korea's nuclear plan and China's growing power, the former enemies were about to sign a treaty called the General Security of Military Information Agreement, which ensures the sharing of information and sensitive military data. Prior to the accord the two nations, indirectly exchanged material through their common ally America, in fact, it was upon the insistence of the US that the pact was formed. Now the alliance will allow South Korea and Japan to directly communicate with one another regarding North Korea's nuclear and missile plans as well as China's military strategies.
The Japanese parliament still expects the accord to be signed by Friday evening.
