North Korea Threat Meeting Held Without South Korea's NIS: Friction in Seoul-Washington Cooperation?

[Anchor]

A trilateral meeting between South Korea, the United States, and Japan was held in June to counter North Korea's cyber threats, but it has been learned that South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) was unable to attend at the request of the United States. Speculation is mounting over whether significant friction has emerged between the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S.

Kim Jeongyun reports.

[Reporter]

Following the agreement reached at the Camp David summit in the United States in August 2023, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have held working group meetings once or twice a year to respond to North Korean cyber threats.

Around 60 officials, including diplomatic representatives and cyber officials from related government agencies of the three nations, attended the fifth meeting held in Washington in June.

The number of attendees dropped by about 10 compared to the previous meeting, and it has been learned that South Korea's National Intelligence Service, which has been in charge of cyber responses against North Korea, was unable to attend at the request of the U.S. side.

The NIS stated that "there were some misunderstandings several months ago, but it is already in the past," which is viewed as an indirect acknowledgment of the situation.

However, the NIS actively pushed back against other claims, clarifying that reports alleging Director Lee Jong-suk was denied a visit to a North Korea monitoring facility in the U.S. in March, or rumors that an NIS agent investigating Coupang was placed on a U.S. entry ban list, are not true.

The NIS particularly described such reports as "attempts to shake the NIS" and strongly protested, stating that it "expresses grave concern."

While friction can exist between South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies, this situation is considered highly unusual because the signs have surfaced publicly.

Ever since Unification Minister Chung Dong-young singled out Kusong in North Pyongan Province as North Korea's third nuclear facility in March this year, the United States has continued to partially restrict intelligence sharing with South Korea.

[Jin Young-seung / Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "While some information is restricted, I believe that resolving this situation quickly is ultimately the best outcome, and we are working toward that."]

A ruling bloc official told SBS, "It appears that U.S. dissatisfaction began with the government's and the NIS's handling of the Coupang issue."

Military authorities explained, however, that there is no problem in cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. regarding critical military intelligence related to defense readiness.

Camera by Kim Hyeon-sang | Video editing by Park Seon-soo
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.