Kang Kyung-wha Admits to 'Issues in S. Korea-US Intelligence Cooperation That Have Not Been Fully Resolved'

[Anchor]

During the parliamentary audit of the South Korean Embassy in the United States held in Washington, D.C., in the early hours of today (13th), Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha acknowledged that there had been problems in intelligence cooperation with the U.S. and that they have not yet been fully resolved. She revealed that Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who found himself at the center of a rift in South Korea-U.S. cooperation, called her to ask that misunderstandings be cleared up, prompting her to personally explain the situation to the U.S. side, though she did not disclose what response she received.

For our first story today, Washington Correspondent Lee Hanseok reports.

[Reporter]

The core issue during the parliamentary audit of the embassy in Washington was the problem of trust within the U.S. intelligence apparatus.

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon pressed the issue, pointing out that during last month's South Korea-U.S. foreign ministers' meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned damage to the credibility of South Korea's intelligence line, and asked whether this was effectively a demand to replace personnel targeting President Lee Jae-myung.

[Han Dong-hoon / Independent Lawmaker: Since the U.S. cannot interfere in domestic affairs and cannot explicitly demand a specific person's replacement, isn't this actually an expression of the U.S. position regarding this line—that it can no longer work with this line?]

Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha, who sat in on the meeting, drew the line by stating there was no mention of replacing specific individuals, but she did admit there are problems in intelligence cooperation, citing limitations in communication with the White House.

[Kang Kyung-wha / Ambassador to the U.S.: There was talk that there are problems in intelligence cooperation. I do not think that the issues regarding intelligence cooperation have been sufficiently resolved to the extent the U.S. side expects.]

Regarding the U.S. raising the issue of intelligence leaks surrounding Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's remarks on the No. 3 nuclear facility in Kusong, North Pyongan Province, Ambassador Kang stated that she accepted Minister Chung's request and directly offered an explanation to the U.S. side.

Suspicions were also raised that South Korean conglomerates had suspended cooperation with U.S. defense companies out of fear of Chinese retaliation, to which Ambassador Kang responded that she is communicating with the U.S. side to ease the difficulties companies face amid regulations.

In response, the Democratic Party argued that structural trends in Trump's foreign policy must be considered, countering that driving the narrative that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is shaken by individual pending issues is a misreading of the geopolitical situation.

[Park Sung-joon / Democratic Party of Korea Lawmaker: We should look at and understand such international politics and the trends of U.S. foreign policy. Trying to shake things up as if the South Korea-U.S. alliance is fractured over a single diplomatic issue stems from a perspective that misreads the major currents of the international order.]

Meanwhile, Ambassador Kang revealed that the recent landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone was definitely not an accidental mishap, revealing a divergence in views from President Lee Jae-myung.

(Camera: Oh Jung-shik | Video Editing: Won Hyung-hee)

※