Seoul: Japan's North Korea intelligence 'not enough' to have impact

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- South Korea said Japanese intelligence on North Korea's latest weapon test "had no impact" on Seoul's assessment of what Pyongyang described as a "super-large multiple rocket launcher" on Sunday.

South Korean defense ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said the intelligence Seoul receives from Tokyo "is not enough to affect analysis," local news service Newsis reported Monday.

"We have very little to say regarding the value of the information" from Japan, Choi said. "We exchange information [bilaterally] but the information [we receive] is not enough to affect analysis."

The South Korean spokeswoman was referring to intelligence shared under Japan-Korea GSOMIA, the agreement Seoul decided to terminate last week in response to Tokyo's decision to enforce trade restrictions targeting South Korea's tech industry.

Japan had reported the weapon test earlier than Korea Saturday, when Pyongyang engaged in the seventh round of tests since July.

In France at the Group of Seven summit, U.S. President Donald Trump said North Korea has "tremendous" economic potential and Kim Jong Un's decision to launch short-range missiles is not a violation of U.S.-North Korea agreements, CNN reported Monday.

South Korea said it would end the bilateral military intelligence-sharing deal with Japan last week, but GSOMIA does not expire until November. Seoul has said it does not plan to renew the deal in the fall, a move that drew a critical response from the U.S. State Department on Sunday.

"We are deeply disappointed and concerned that the ROK's government terminated the General Security of Military Information Agreement," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus tweeted.

Ortagus also said this would "make defending Korea more complicated and increase risk to U.S. forces."

On Monday in Seoul Choi said the new North Korean weapon is being analyzed in cooperation with the United States, according to Newsis.