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Xinhua: Ceremony to Sign the Military Agreement between Japan and South Korea Cancelled

On June 29, 2012, Xinhua reported that the Japanese government approved an intelligence-sharing agreement with South Korea. This is the first military agreement between these two countries since World War II. However, the South Korean government cancelled the ceremony scheduled for the same afternoon due to high pressure from both the ruling party and the opposition parties. Pressure also came from the United States, who already had a similar agreement with Japan. Earlier, the word “military” in the name of the agreement had been removed to ease the pressure. Apparently the wording change was not enough to alleviate the doubts in the minds of South Korean voters who have a strong opinion about territorial disputes with Japan. Also, a large number of South Korean citizens still remember Japan’s past occupation of Korea.
Source: Xinhua, June 29, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-06/30/c_123351185.htm