S. Korea, Japan agree to augment military hotline

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan agreed Saturday to augment their military hotline as the neighbors seek to intensify joint cooperation in defense against North Korea's worsening nuclear and missile threats, Seoul's defense ministry said.

The agreement was reached during bilateral talks between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani in Singapore on the fringe of the ongoing Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Currently, South Korea and Japan maintains a director-level hotline between their defense ministries.

During the talks, Han and Nakatani called for greater collaboration between South Korea and Japan as well as in the trilateral framework involving the United States, the ministry said in a statement.

"They also reached a shared understanding that thorough implementation of anti-North Korea sanctions is important in order to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea," the statement said.

Han said he will try to visit Japan sometime this year after Nakatani extended an invitation, the ministry also said. (Yonhap)