Japan, South Korea pledge swift resolution to military disputes

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japan and South Korea have agreed to quickly resolve disputes over past military encounters that stand in the way of closer security cooperation, Japan's defence minister said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore.

Japan's defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, held talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, as part of the conference.

"We discussed pending issues," Hamada told reporters on Sunday after the bilateral meeting.

He said the two agreed "to accelerate talks, including steps to prevent recurrence" of a radar incident that occurred in 2018.

"We will continue to keep close communication with South Korea," he added.

In the 2018 incident, when Japan said a South Korean destroyer locked its targeting radar on a Japanese surveillance plane. South Korea denied doing so, sparking a dispute that has hampered their relationship.

Hamada also said he shared with South Korea's Lee the importance of promoting defence cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Tim Kelly; Editing by Gerry Doyle)