Shin Won-sik, the Director of the National Security Office, testified as a witness on the 11th at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, during the seventh defense hearing in the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol. (Photo: Screen capture from the Constitutional Court’s web hard video) February 11, 2025. [Seoul=Newsis]
On the 12th, Shin Won-sik held his first video conference with Masataka Okano, the newly appointed Director of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, to exchange views on Korea-Japan relations and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation.
The Presidential Office stated that during the video conference, which also served as an introductory meeting, Shin and Director Okano discussed responses to threats from North Korea and Russia, as well as regional and international situations, including the North Korean issue.
Both sides agreed that with this year marking the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic normalization, the two countries should continue to expand cooperation in various fields, with special attention from their national security offices. They also reaffirmed the necessity of continued Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation to address the serious situation posed by North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threats and illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
Shin and Okano also agreed to continue collaboration on North Korean human rights issues, including those concerning abductees, detainees in North Korea, and prisoners of war, promising to maintain close communication going forward.