South Korea's Defense Ministry denied that Seoul wanted to reconsider the termination of the Military Intelligence Sharing Agreement with Tokyo.

"So far, as far as I know, the options have not been considered," South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Choi Hyun-soo said at a meeting today, denying speculation that the country was weighing. reiterating the decision to end the Military Intelligence Sharing Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan.

Ms. Choi also reaffirmed the South Korean government's stance that "diverse measures can only be considered when Japan must first lift export restrictions and relations between the two countries are restored".

GSOMIA will end on November 23, after Seoul announced in August that it would not extend the deal in response to export restrictions from Tokyo.

As the end of the agreement drew near, several newspapers speculated that Korea was reconsidering its decision to end GSOMIA with Japan until the two countries find a way to resolve their economic and historical conflicts. .

Japan-Korea relations are at their lowest level since the two countries normalized in 1965. Japan in July restricted the export of some high-tech materials to South Korea, prompting Seoul to end GSOMIA. Japan then removed the Korean name from the "whitelist" of 27 countries exempted from trade restrictions.

Seoul accused Tokyo of using its goodwill to retaliate against a South Korean court decision in November 2018, which required Japanese companies that used forced labor in the period 1910-1945 to pay compensation for the victim. However, Japan insists the problem was solved when the two countries normalized relations and provided US $ 500 million in assistance.