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Saturday, December 18, 2010 – Daily News – 7A New threat exposes enduring military tensions SEOUL, South Korea (MCT) — North Korea's deadly shelling of a Yellow Sea island last month not only raised the specter of war on the Korean peninsu- la, it also laid bare the polit- ical tensions between two key U.S. allies: Japan and South Korea. The traditionally uneasy relationship between Tokyo and Seoul turned chillier last week when Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said his country's military, known as the Self-Defense Forces, could be dispatched to South Korea to whisk Japanese nationals from harm's way. The comments were meant to reassure Japanese citizens about potential threats from North Korea or China, but instead they raised concerns about the likelihood of Japan's rearmament. Tokyo's decades-long occupation of the peninsula in the early 20th century has many South Koreans focused more on Japan's historic wrongs than any current security threats. "Many Koreans still recall the brutality of Japan- ese colonization, so it's still not possible to talk of better military ties with Tokyo," said Moon Hong-sik, a research fellow at Seoul's ★★ ★ said Tokyo had not reached out to Seoul regarding any scenario that would bring Japanese troops to the Kore- an peninsula. "How we would protect Japanese overseas in vari- ous contingencies is a hypo- thetical question," he said, "and any country would be prepared to do the same thing." Institute for National Secu- rity Strategy. "We will not accept any military involve- ment with Japan, no matter what the outside threat." Seoul and Tokyo would appear to be closely aligned against the dual potential threats of China's military expansion and a nuclear- armed North Korea. Both nations have security agree- ments with the U.S. And both have held separate naval drills with U.S. forces in recent weeks. Experts on Asia note that Japan's post-World War II AMERICAN SELF-STORAGE 64 Mulberry Ave., Red Bluff • 527-1755 • Fully Fenced • Onsite Manager • Well Lit Property website: www.americanselfstorage.biz • RV & Vehicle parking now available $ 20 MOVES YOU IN Some restrictions apply CALL NOW FOR RATES! offer expires 12/31/10 859 Washington St. • Red Bluff 529-2777 • overlandpost.com NEW HOLIDAY HOURS Mon-Fri 8:30 - 5:30pm Sat. 10am - 4:00pm Make sure presents arrive on time! FedEx • UPS pacifist constitution impos- es strict limits on its mili- tary. Even so, Japan and South Korea each remain wary of closer military ties despite a warming of eco- nomic and cultural rela- tions. During a visit to Asia last week, U.S. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, invited Japan to take part in Ameri- can military exercises with South Korea, but it declined. Though such maneuvers can be conducted with the U.S. under the American- Japanese security pact, Tokyo has no such agree- ment with Seoul, and Japan wants to avoid any backlash against a display of military might, analysts say. Kan appeared to open old wounds when he said, "We need to carefully pro- ceed in consultations with South Korea about whether they would let in aircraft from Japan's Self-Defense Forces." A senior Japanese gov- ernment official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Some experts think Kan's comments were aimed at shoring up support at home, where his approval rating has plummeted to 21 percent, the lowest since he took office in June, pollsters say. The popularity swoon is fueled in part by discon- tent over the government's handling of recent diplo- matic rows with Beijing, including Tokyo's seizure this fall of a Chinese fishing trawler that had collided with two Coast Guard ves- sels off the Japanese coast. "South Korea gets con- cerned over anything involving Japan increasing certain types of military capabilities or the erosion of legal constraints," said Daniel Pinkston, a Korean expert for the think tank International Crisis Group. "That makes them very uneasy, much faster than it does the U.S." Seoul is also closely watching as Japan's Defense Ministry updates its National Defense Pro- gram Guideline, the first since 2004 and the first since Kan's Democratic Party of Japan rose to power last year. According to the Nikkei, a major Japanese daily, the government is adopting a new "dynamic defense" strategy that concentrates more of the country's forces in the southern islands to keep tabs on China and respond to terror attacks and other threats. The realign- ment, due to be announced later this week, also calls for greater integration with U.S. forces in the region. South Korea has little to fear by Kan's remark, which came after North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong Island Nov. 23, killing four people, said Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Council on For- eign Relations. The South Korean military was con- ducting drills near the island last month and Pyongyang indicated in messages to Seoul that the exercises were considered prepara- tion for an invasion. "The Japanese don't have any ambition to be part of the conflict on the Korean peninsula," Smith said. Today for our Tell us what your grateful for Christmas Party Giveaway Sat. 12/18 • 12-4pm • Live Remote • Refreshments Exchange Gold 413 Walnut St., Red Bluff • 528-8000 Drawing held at 3pm (must be present to win) The