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SEOUL, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- South Korea approved a military intelligence sharing agreement with Japan on Tuesday, making way for the deal to be officially signed in Seoul on Wednesday. Japan-Korea GSOMIA will allow Seoul and Tokyo to exchange military secrets.
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Intelligence South Korea would share with Japan would include screening and video information collected by reconnaissance aircraft, and information obtained by intercepting wireless communication originating from North Korean military facilities located between Pyongyang and the military demarcation line inside the Korean demilitarized zone.
South Korea in turn is expected to gain access to intelligence on North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles gathered by Japan's surveillance satellite and Aegis-equipped destroyers.
"The signing of GSOMIA with Japan will help South Korea fully utilize Japan's advanced information-gathering capabilities on the North's nuclear and missile programs," a defense ministry official said, according to Yonhap.
The deal, however, is being met with some disapproval.
South Korea's three opposition parties said they would request Defense Minister Han Min-koo to step down if the deal is finalized.
A coalition of activists protested the deal on Tuesday, demanding withdrawal from the agreement because it is not in South Korea's national interest to share military secrets with Tokyo, South Korean news service Newsis reported.
Some of the activists, who are also requesting the resignation of President Park Geun-hye and the termination of plans to deploy the THAAD defense system, said Japanese intelligence on North Korea missiles is "not useful for early warning" and escalates hostilities with North Korea.
As the deal reaches the final stage, South Korea also postponed a planned naval defense drill that was to be held near the disputed Dokdo or Takeshima Islets.
A South Korean naval official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the exercise is to be held in December, according to Newsis.
