The basic condition for three-way cooperation was first forged in 1965 when Seoul and Japan reestablished their diplomatic relationship amid Washington’s push for its normalization to help keep China and the former Soviet Union in check.

The normalization deal came as the South was in dire need of economic assistance from outside to spur its development while Japan needed to mend fences with neighboring countries to reestablish its status.

But the deal failed to lead to trilateral security cooperation, as Koreans still had memories of forced labor, sexual slavery and other atrocities by Japan during World War II.

The push for the security alliance further lost its vigor as U.S.-China detente in the early 1970s weakened the rationale for military cooperation. Japan also established diplomatic ties with China in 1972 while Seoul-Beijing ties were forged two decades later.

A mood of reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula in the early 1970s, albeit temporary, also lessened the need for the three-way alliance.

On July 4, 1972, Seoul and Pyongyang signed a joint declaration, the first agreement since their national division. The rivals agreed on the three principles of self-reliance, peace and national unity, recognizing coexistence for the first time.

The pursuit of trilateral cooperation also lost its traction after the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991.

Under former President Roh Tae-woo’s foreign policy initiative, dubbed “Nordpolitik,” ― German for northern policy ― Seoul established diplomatic ties with Moscow in 1990 and with Beijing in 1992. This was a negative development for the trilateral cooperation.

Japan’s pursuit of a “normal country” with a full-fledged military was another critical factor that worsened public sentiment here and undermined three-way security efforts.

Since the 1990s, Japan, based on its economic prowess, has sought to bolster military capabilities and expand areas of its operations to include joint military maneuvers with American troops and U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Such moves away from its pacifist Constitution have spawned the strident talk of the revival of Japan’s militarism. Adopted in 1946, the constitution bans Japan from waging war and possessing certain warfare materials.

Based on this, Tokyo had stuck to holding “basic, fundamental” defense capabilities. But it is now striving to have a more proactive military force with its hawkish politicians calling the passive defense strategy “out of touch” with reality.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)