South Korea, the U.S. and Japan signed an accord Monday on sharing their intelligence regarding North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats to better cope with Pyongyang’s possible provocations. No joint ceremony took place, with the vice defense ministers of the three countries separately signing the arrangement, which took effect immediately.

Defense officials here stressed that the scope of information to be shared under the pact would be confined to intelligence on military threats from the North. They also noted that instead of sharing sensitive information directly with Tokyo, Seoul would give its intelligence first to Washington, which would then deliver it to Japanese officials upon Seoul’s approval. A similar process will be applied when South Korea receives intelligence gathered by Japan.

This low-key manner of signing the accord and emphasis on indirect intelligence-sharing between Seoul and Tokyo seemed designed to circumvent negative sentiment here toward South Korea’s military cooperation with its former colonial ruler.

The two countries came close to concluding a bilateral deal on sharing military intelligence in 2012, but Seoul backed off at the last minute in the face of vehement objection from opposition parties and the public. In April, the U.S. initiated discussions on concluding a trilateral accord with its key Asian allies.

The arrangement, which documents promises made between the defense ministries of the three countries, requires no separate approval from the Cabinet or legislature. But it is still legally binding as it is based on intelligence-sharing agreements between Seoul and Washington and between Washington and Tokyo.

Sharing military intelligence with Japan may be necessary, given that the North has advanced its capability of miniaturizing nuclear warheads that could be mounted on its ballistic missiles. Pyongyang has also threatened to conduct a fourth nuclear test in protest of a recent U.N. resolution against the oppressive regime’s dire human rights record.

In the course of concluding the trilateral pact, however, Seoul officials still fell short of clearing the suspicion here that the accord might result in conceding Japan’s expanded military role in the region and opening the way for South Korea’s participation in the U.S.-led regional missile defense scheme. It did not fit their emphasis on the need for the trilateral cooperation in deterring and responding to provocations from the North that they announced the planned conclusion of the deal only three days before its signing.

Through further discussions on the specifics of intelligence sharing, South Korean officials need to ensure that their decision will not prove to be a misstep that might complicate Seoul’s security interests.