Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters Saturday that Japanese military vessels would not enter the port of Busan, but that they would take part in the remainder of the joint exercise program, according to a transcript of his comments on the Defense Ministry website.

“From the perspective of East Asian security, ties between Japan and South Korea, as well as between Japan, South Korea and the US, are extremely important,” Iwaya said.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on its website that Japan would take part in a planning meeting, but would not send ships to take part in the multilateral operations off Busan. This decision was announced at a conference to prepare the drills last week, the Defence Ministry said.

A total of eight countries are scheduled to participate in the drills off Busan from April 29-May 2: the US, South Korea, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and India, according to Kim Eun-kyung, a defence ministry official

“Japan will take part in the meeting held on land,” Kim said by phone. “They will not send ships to Busan — this was decided at the conference.”

The two countries have been increasingly at loggerheads in recent months over whether Japan has shown sufficient contrition for its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.