SEOUL - South Korea and Japan have decided to delay the signing of their first military pact since Japan's colonial occupation of the Korean peninsula, local media reported Friday.

The foreign ministry here had previously said the two countries plan to sign the accord, called the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), in Tokyo later in the day.

The pact, if signed, would allow the two sides to exchange military intelligence on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and its nuclear and missile programs.

Opposition lawmakers and civic activists have voiced criticism of the accord, which they say was a hush-hush deal that would generate military tension in the region and embolden Japanese right-wing extremists.