The South Korean Navy has indefinitely postponed a joint search and rescue exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force that was scheduled for late November, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday, citing government sources from both sides.
The decision came after Japan revoked a plan to allow South Korean military jets to refuel at a base in Okinawa earlier this month after reportedly learning the aircraft had recently flown near contested islets in the Sea of Japan.
The drills, held 10 times between 1999 and 2017, were suspended after a military dispute over Japanese patrol aircraft in December 2018.
The resumption of the joint training had been seen as a symbol of strengthened cooperation, according to a senior Defense Ministry official cited by the outlet.
The disputed islets, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, are controlled by South Korea but claimed by Japan. The remote islets are located in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
