South Korea and Japan have temporarily suspended a military exchange programme amid a territorial row over a set of disputed islands, defence officials said Monday. Japanese naval and air force commanders suspended trips to South Korea which had been scheduled to start on Monday as part of a military exchange programme, the South's defence ministry said.
South Korea will also suspend similar trips to Japan by its commanders, a ministry spokesman told AFP. "The move is temporary, reflecting strained ties between the two countries," he said. The current dispute is over ownership of South Korean-controlled islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese. Ministry officials said the row could affect other military exchange and co-operation programmes if tensions escalate further.
Relations between the two sides have deteriorated since South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak made a surprise visit to the islands on August 10. He said his trip, the first by a South Korean president, was intended to press Japan to settle grievances left over from its 1910-1945 colonial rule over Korea. Lee further angered Japan by saying later that Emperor Akihito must sincerely apologise for past excesses should he wish to visit South Korea. Japan cancelled a finance ministers' meeting scheduled for this month and said it would review a foreign exchange swap agreement with Seoul, as the rift threatened to spill over into economic ties.