GSOMIA that can be seen from 1-How is secret military information handled? | NHK News

GSOMIA that can be seen from 1-How is secret military information handled? September 5, 16:15

"Lie," "I can't," "Looks faint"
Defense Ministry officials did not try to hide the shock-
Completion of the military information comprehensive protection agreement = “GSOMIA” between Korea and Japan. The United States, which is in an alliance with both sides, also expressed "strong concern and disappointment" in South Korea's decision.
But what is “GSOMIA” in general is not well known? I reviewed and summarized the mechanism and what happens when it was discarded.
(Kiyoshi Inada, Yamagata)

GSOMIA: How it works

Three years ago, on November 23, 2016, Japan and Korea signed an agreement between the Japanese government and the Republic of Korea regarding the protection of secret military information.

That is “GSOMIA”. In order to exchange highly confidential military information such as signs of ballistic missile launches between the two countries, a mechanism to properly protect the information has been established.

Its main focus is on the “protection” of information. If an agreement is concluded, it is stipulated that even if a secret is communicated to the other party, it is not communicated to a third party unless there is an agreement, and the person who handles the information is limited. In other words, it can be said that it is a “condition for secret talks”, and the officials of the Ministry of Defense said, “Without this, secret talks cannot be made even if a defense ministerial meeting is held.”

In order to know the actual situation, we visited Mr. Masato Ito, Professor Toshiyuki Ito of Kanazawa Institute of Technology Toranomon Graduate School.

Mr. Ito is a former executive of the so-called “Information Field” who served as the intelligence officer of the Ministry of Defense Information Headquarters and the Director of Communications and Communications Information Division of the Maritime Staff Director after working as a submarine captain.

According to Mr. Ito, the actual situation is that information is exchanged between Japan, the United States, and South Korea via an American information system.
Japan and South Korea have signed GSOMIA with the United States, and registered secret information in the American system. Information from the US is also registered and shared on the system.

Mr. Ito explains, “There is something like a common server, and Japan and Korea will go there and go to see information.” It is GSOMIA in Japan and Korea that makes it possible to see information registered by both countries on this system.

In the world of information, there is a strict rule that “a country that has provided information does not provide information to a third country without the permission of the country from which it was obtained”. For this reason, even if Japan or South Korea registers information in the American system, information cannot be passed from Japan to South Korea or from South Korea to Japan.

On the other hand, if there is GSOMIA between Japan and Korea, there is no risk of reaching the hands of a third country, so information can be freely shared between the three countries.

What happens when the agreement is destroyed?
“The United States needs to ask if we can provide this to Japan (Korea).”

“In Japan and Korea, apart from GSOMIA, there is an agreement to exchange information through the United States only for information on missiles and nuclear tests. It must be judged if possible and processed in some cases, and of course there will be a loss of time. ''

Why do we use the United States to exchange confidential information between Japan and Korea? In response to that question, Mr. Ito says that “cryptography and systems” is the answer.
“Japan and South Korea have an alliance with the United States, but there is no alliance between Japan and South Korea. To form an alliance is to share“ cryptography and system ”so that secret stories can always be shared. The reality is that if you think about confidentiality, you have to do it through the United States. "

GSOMIA: Merits of both countries

How was “GSOMIA” in Japan and Korea used?

The Japanese government has not revealed the number of information sharing cases based on the agreement, but according to media reports by the Korean media, by the time it was decided to abandon it on August 22, mainly on North Korea ’s nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, 29 secrets were shared. In addition, Secretary of the Secretary of the Secretary announced that a complementary exchange of information was conducted with South Korean defense authorities when North Korea launched two new short-range ballistic missiles on August 24. Yes.

Mr. Ito explains about this information exchange, “If you are talking about missile defense, Korea should be able to get more out of its throat.”

When North Korea launches a missile, the US “early warning satellite” first detects the heat of the rocket engine and instantly shares that information with Japan and Korea. After that, the three countries, Japan, the US and South Korea, tracked using ground-based radars and marine Aegis ships. It is a mechanism to predict the fall point.

However, since radar can only detect up to the horizon of the irradiation location, it is limited because the earth is round. If a missile is launched into the Sea of ​​Japan, South Korea will not be captured when it falls.

Furthermore, given the “wakes” of recent North Korean ballistic missiles, South Korea points out that Japan needs more information than ever.

“The previous ballistic missiles were almost free-falling after launch and the fall point could be predicted to some extent. On the other hand, recent ballistic missiles hopped twice after reaching the highest position. The information from Japan should be indispensable for grasping the detailed fall pattern. "

On the other hand, officials of the Ministry of Defense point out that there are benefits to Japan based on the agreement.
“Some human information called“ HUMINT ”(Humint), that is, information obtained from cooperators in North Korea, can only be obtained from South Korea. There are things that can only be gained because they are close to Korea. ''

In order to protect each country, “GSOMIA” has made it possible to exchange necessary information with each other.

Contacting a former US intelligence agency representative ...

How does the American side see this destruction? We were able to contact a former representative of an American intelligence agency with a long working experience in Japan.
“The abandonment of the agreement is only a surprise. Since the military secrets each contain“ shining gems ”, it is a big loss that our allies can no longer communicate directly. The countries are different even in the language they speak, South Korea says “you can communicate through the US”, but it ’s not that easy. ”

In addition, the former person in charge expressed his view that the abandonment of the agreement would be a significant loss for regional stability in the face of North Korea.
“It ’s North Korea, China, and Russia that laugh at this situation, but Korea does n’t understand why the US abandoned the agreement is uncomfortable. President Mun ’s response is even “non-cooperative” for the United States. ”

Is the difference in "threat" perception?

GSOMIA was decided to abandon the idea of ​​Japan and the United States. Former Maritime Self-Defense Force executive Mr. Ito and former US intelligence agency officials also said that "the fundamental perception of the threat of North Korea was revealed".

The United States and Japan have called for "Japan-US-Korea cooperation is indispensable for regional stability." North Korea launched a completely new missile on August 24, in addition to short-range ballistic missiles that fly at low altitudes and irregularly. The Ministry of Defense analyzes that the threat of North Korea is growing.

On the other hand, the South Korean government pointed out that Japan's exclusion from Korea as a preferential target for export control caused a significant change in the environment for security cooperation between the two countries. “In such a situation, we decided that continuing an agreement signed for the purpose of exchanging sensitive military information was not in line with Japan's national interest.”

As North Korea ’s missile technology becomes more advanced and the US, China and Russia are in conflict, will the East Asian situation follow a path of confusion? The clue to overcome the confrontation between Japan and its neighbor, Korea, has not yet been seen.