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On Dec. 28 in Seoul, Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo speaks out against Japan’s one-sided argument regarding a Japanese patrol plane’s low-altitude flyby near a South Korean naval vessel. (Yonhap News)
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S. Korea responds to Japan’s criticism by saying plane was flying at dangerously low altitude
During a meeting of the National Security Council’s (NSC) standing committee on Jan. 3, the South Korean government decided to take the necessary measures after determining exactly what happened when a Japanese patrol plane flew by a South Korean naval vessel at a low altitude. “A discussion was held about the severity of the incident in which a Japanese patrol plane made a low-altitude flyby of a South Korean naval vessel during an emergency rescue of a North Korean fishing boat in distress in the East Sea. It was decided that the necessary measures will be taken based on an accurate understanding of the facts,” the NSC announced following the standing committee’s meeting, which was chaired by Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong. The Japanese government claims that the South Korean navy’s Gwanggaeto the Great destroyer, which was rescuing a North Korean fishing vessel in the waters of the East Sea on Dec. 20, locked its targeting radar on a patrol plane from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. “It’s dangerous to aim targeting radar, and I hope that the South Koreans will take definite measures to prevent a recurrence,” said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during an interview with TV Asahi on Jan. 1. The South Korean Defense Ministry made the following response on Jan. 2: “The very fact that a Japanese patrol plane made a threatening low-altitude flight in a humanitarian situation where a friendly naval vessel was rescuing a fishing boat in distress in the open sea is itself very dangerous. Japan needs to stop misrepresenting the facts and should in fact apologize for flying at a threateningly low altitude near a naval vessel that was engaged in humanitarian rescue activities.” Committee praises Kim Jong-un for expressing commitment to peace and denuclearization The standing committee credited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for using his New Year’s address to express his commitment to achieving lasting peace on and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The committee also agreed that Seoul would take on even more of a leading role in promoting the development of inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations and the Korean Peninsula denuclearization talks as part of a virtuous cycle and resolved to keep providing support so that another North Korea-US summit can be held soon. During the meeting, the committee also reviewed the current status of the stalled negotiations between South Korea and the US about updating their defense cost-sharing agreement. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
