As the days tick down before the expiration of a key military intelligence-sharing pact between Japan and South Korea, Washington is dialing up pressure on Seoul to reverse its decision to terminate the agreement.

The only problem? Washington appears unable — or unwilling — to exploit its leverage with South Korea to prevent Seoul from nixing the pact.

In August, Seoul announced it would withdraw from the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Tokyo. The move came amid a trade row that broke out in the summer, a disagreement rooted in South Korea's historical grievances over wartime labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.