South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back is set to visit Japan next week for talks with his counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi. The resumption of military cooperation is expected to be a key agenda item, with the two countries finalizing arrangements for a three-day trip from January 29 to 31. This follows a recent meeting between President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back's planned visit to Japan is poised to advance the resumption of military cooperation between the two nations. According to government sources, Ahn is expected to make a three-day trip from January 29 to 31 to hold talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, with Yokosuka—home to the U.S. 7th Fleet—as a likely venue, as reported by Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun.
The meeting builds on phone talks between Ahn and Koizumi last month, where they agreed to improve defense ties. These relations had been largely stalled since an Air Force refueling incident in November. South Korean fighter jets en route to an air show in Dubai were scheduled to refuel at a Japanese air base, but Tokyo canceled the plan, citing drills by the Air Force's Black Eagles team using T-50B aircraft near the Dokdo islets. Dokdo remains a persistent point of tension, with Japan continuing to assert sovereignty claims in its policy documents, statements, and textbooks.
Ahn and Koizumi last met bilaterally on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur in early November, where they reaffirmed the importance of trilateral security cooperation with the United States amid North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats. This visit would mark the first by a South Korean defense chief to Japan in about 1.5 years, since former Minister Shin Won-sik's trip to Tokyo in July 2024.
It comes shortly after President Lee Jae Myung's meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Nara earlier this month, signaling efforts to deepen bilateral ties.
