Japan is ready to share, as requested by South Korea, information related to the launch a day earlier of what North Korea claims to have been a submarine-launched ballistic missile, government sources said Thursday.
The move is based on an intelligence-sharing pact, set to expire in November, after South Korea decided to terminate it amid the sharp worsening of ties over wartime history and trade policy.
Tokyo apparently hopes to urge Seoul to rethink its decision to scrap the pact -- formally called the General Security of Military Information Agreement -- by offering to share sensitive information under the arrangement.
"The pact itself will be effective until late November so there is no reason for us to refuse (to provide information)," a senior government official said.
