South Korea, Japan Sign Disaster Control Agreement to Improve Safety Efforts

The new agreement aims to allow both countries to exchange resources required to provide aid to those affected by natural disasters.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea’s Safety Minister Park In-yong and Japanese Minister for Disaster Management Jun Matsumoto signed an agreement to increase cooperation of their respective institutions in the event of natural disasters.

"I am well aware of people's anxiety over the latest earthquake that struck Gyeongju. This establishment of a cooperation system with Japan, which has much experience in earthquakes, will be the first step in making South Korea a safer country," the South Korean minister said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.

The agreement, which is the first of its kind, aims to allow both ministries to exchange resources required to provide aid to those affected by natural disasters, according to the media outlet.

The two neighboring countries experience natural disasters every year, including earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons. In September, the most powerful in the history of the Korean peninsula 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit the southern region near the city of Gyeongju injuring 14.