Opposition leader denounces trilateral naval drills as 'pro-Japanese'

SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung denounced joint missile defense drills among South Korea, the United States and Japan as "pro-Japanese," saying the exercises could mean recognizing Japan's Self-Defense Forces as a regular military.

The drills involving the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier were conducted in the East Sea on Thursday with a focus on countering nuclear and missile threats in the wake of a series of North Korean missile launches, including one that flew over Japan.

"Holding joint military exercises between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan can be interpreted as acknowledging Japan's Self-Defense Forces as an official military," the Democratic Party (DP) chairman told a party Supreme Council meeting.

"This is an extreme pro-Japanese act," he said. "It's a defense disaster. People do not want a South Korea-U.S.-Japan military alliance as they believe it can cause significant harm to the geopolitical situation on the Korean Peninsula."

Lee urged the government to apologize for conducting the drills that he said would help Japan become a military power and a normal country, and promise never to conduct such trilateral exercises again.

mlee@yna.co.kr
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