At a time when China is becoming increasingly assertive, South Korea said (August 23) it will scrap an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, drawing a swift protest from Tokyo. South Korea’s Kim You-geun, Deputy Director of the National Security Council, said Japan had created a “grave change” in the environment for bilateral security cooperation by removing South Korea’s fast-track export status this month. That move came weeks after Tokyo placed restrictions on exports of semiconductor materials considered vital to South Korea’s tech industry. Kim added: “Under this situation, we have determined that it would not serve our national interest to maintain an agreement we signed with the aim of exchanging military information which is sensitive to security,” Kim told a news conference.Korean peninsula will be united by 2045, says Seoul amid Japan row 

(Comment: Signed in 2016, the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) had been due for automatic renewal on Saturday. The arrangement enable Japan and South Korea to share information on North Korea’s missile and nuclear programme – a threat underlined by the North’s recent launch of a series of short-range ballistic missiles.)