Japanese Defense Minister Visits South Korea for Bilateral Talks

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a two-day visit that includes meetings with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back. Koizumi began the trip by visiting the Seoul National Cemetery to pay respects to fallen soldiers.

He later joined Ahn at an Air Force base in the eastern provincial city of Wonju, where the ministers toured a unit that includes the Black Eagles aerobatic team.

The visit follows Ahn's January trip to Yokosuka near Tokyo and comes less than a month after the ministers met on the sidelines of a defense forum in Singapore. During the Wonju tour, Koizumi received a briefing on unit operations and boarded one of the aircraft.

Ahn presented Koizumi with a scale model of a Black Eagles jet as a commemorative gift. The ministers will hold formal bilateral talks on Sunday.

November, Japan declined a South Korean request for refueling support for the Black Eagles en route to an air show in Dubai. The refusal stemmed from one aircraft's participation in a drill over the easternmost islets of Dokdo. The two sides resolved the issue during December phone talks, and the Black Eagles received refueling support at a Japanese air base in Okinawa in late January.

It marked the first time Japanese forces refueled a South Korean military aircraft. A Japanese news outlet reported last week that the ministers may discuss regular refueling support for the Black Eagles during Sunday's talks.