US State Department on South Korea-US Intelligence Cooperation: 'Expect Appropriate Handling of Intelligence and Counterintelligence Matters'

Regarding recent concerns over potential cracks in cooperation between South Korean and US intelligence authorities, the US State Department stated, "We expect all allies to appropriately handle intelligence and counterintelligence matters."

A senior official at the US State Department gave this response today (October 10) in a written reply to an inquiry by SBS regarding the current status of South Korea-US intelligence cooperation.

Rumors of friction between South Korean and US intelligence authorities emerged after it became known that South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) was unable to attend a trilateral working group meeting of South Korea, the US, and Japan held in Washington last June to counter North Korean cyber threats, following a request from the US side.

In response, SBS asked the US State Department for the reason behind excluding the NIS from the meeting and how it evaluates the current level of trust between the intelligence agencies of the two countries.

Inquiries were also made as to why the US still partially restricts intelligence sharing regarding North Korea and whether it agrees with the NIS's recent stance that "misunderstandings between the two countries have been resolved."

However, the US State Department did not provide specific answers to these questions, instead offering only a principled stance that allies must appropriately handle intelligence and counterintelligence matters.

This is interpreted as emphasizing the importance of the South Korean government's appropriate handling of intelligence and counterintelligence issues while avoiding an evaluation of the specific status of South Korea-US intelligence cooperation.

Previously, regarding the issue of the NIS being excluded from the trilateral South Korea-US-Japan meeting, the NIS stated on October 8, "There were some misunderstandings several months ago, but that is already in the past," adding, "There are currently no misunderstandings between South Korean and US intelligence authorities, and we are cooperating closely across all security domains, including cyber and North Korea."

On the same day, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Jin Young-seung acknowledged during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly that US intelligence sharing regarding North Korea is partially restricted, stating, "As a result, I think resolving this situation as quickly as possible is the best course, and we are making efforts toward that end."

Meanwhile, regarding the matter, a high-ranking South Korean government official told SBS yesterday, "It is true that intelligence cooperation between South Korea and Japan—[Note: referring to South Korea-US cooperation]—was not smooth due to misunderstandings during the process, but recently we are in a phase where those misunderstandings are being cleared up."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.