Has the 'Black Eagles' Dispute Been Mended? Defense Ministers’ Talks Planned in Japan Later This Month

Tokyo – The Financial News correspondent Seo Hye-jin – The governments of South Korea and Japan are coordinating plans to hold Defense Ministers' Talks in Japan later this month, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 21st.
According to multiple government officials, South Korean defense minister Ahn Gyu-back is expected to visit Japan at the end of the month for talks with Japan’s Minister of Defense Shinjirō Koizumi.
One option under discussion is for Minister Koizumi to invite Ahn to Yokosuka City in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is Koizumi’s electoral district, to hold the talks there. The two are also expected to tour a USN base in the city to reaffirm trilateral coordination among South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
Explaining the reason for holding the talks, The Yomiuri Shimbun stated that the goal is "to revitalize defense exchanges, which have stalled since the decision last November to withdraw midair refueling support for the Black Eagles aerobatic team of the Republic of Korea Air Force, rebuild cooperative ties, and strengthen deterrence against North Korea."
It has also been confirmed that Minister Ahn and the minister of defense held an undisclosed phone conversation in late December last year. The two governments appear to have been working to improve relations, which had been strained by the refueling suspension incident.
The Black Eagles aerobatic team of the Republic of Korea Air Force had planned to stop over at Naha Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture to refuel on their way to the Dubai Airshow in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in November last year. However, the Japanese government refused to provide fuel support, citing the team’s previous flights near Dokdo as an issue, and the team’s participation was ultimately canceled. In response, South Korea postponed its participation in the Japan Self-Defense Forces Marching Festival and a planned joint search-and-rescue drill.
If the Defense Ministers' Talks are held, it will be the first such meeting since the talks on the sidelines of an international conference in Malaysia last November. When former minister of defense Gen Nakatani visited South Korea in September last year, the two sides agreed on reciprocal visits, and Minister Ahn’s upcoming trip to Japan would be part of that arrangement. Koizumi is also reportedly eager to visit South Korea at an early date.
sjmary@fnnews.com Seo Hye-jin Reporter