S. Korea's military intel-sharing pact with Japan set to expire midnight Saturday

지소미아 오늘 자정 종료 예정... 韓 NSC 개최

Just about eight hours from now,... GSOMIA, the joint military intelligence sharing pact between South Korea and Japan will be terminated.
Both sides are refusing to budge on the issues that caused South Korea to let it expire, so a last minute breakthrough appears unlikely.
Kim Min-ji reports.
South Korea has convened a meeting of its National Security Council on Friday for last-minute discussions,... as its military intel-sharing pact with Japan, GSOMIA, appears on course to expire at the stroke of midnight.
Seoul is later expected to publicly reaffirm its plan to withdraw from the deal... unless there's a change in Tokyo's attitude.
South Korea's announced it was withdrawing from the deal in August... after Japan imposed tougher export restrictions on Seoul... citing a breach of trust on security issues.
Seoul sees it as retaliation for a Supreme Court ruling ordering Japanese companies to compensate South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.
Since then, South Korea has been adamant that reconsideration can only take place if Japan lifts its export curbs.
Tokyo, however, only continues to point the finger at Seoul.
Speaking to reporters Friday,... Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said there is no change to Japan's stance... urging Seoul to act wisely.
Tokyo has been saying that export restrictions,... GSOMIA,... and historical issues are different matters that need to be dealt with separately.
The U.S. has also been pressuring Seoul to retract its decision,... saying the pact is vital to three-way security cooperation... and that its termination will only benefit North Korea and China.
However, South Korea plans to make use of the Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement which includes the U.S. as an intermediary as it did before GSOMIA was signed.
Washington has called on both Seoul and Tokyo to work together to solve the issue.
The U.S. Senate has also unanimously passed a resolution highlighting the importance of GSOMIA... and that its suspension will hurt Washington's national security at a time when North Korea is engaging in increased provocations.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.

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