'U.S. North Korea Intelligence Sharing Limited to Missiles... Effectively Blocked'

[Anchor]

As you have seen, the United States is effectively putting pressure on the South Korean government by citing the "standards of the alliance." Then, what level of intelligence is the U.S. currently sharing with South Korea? According to our reporting, the North Korea-related intelligence provided to our side is found to be limited solely to the area of North Korean missiles. The total volume of intelligence shared by the U.S. has also dropped significantly compared to the past.

Senior Defense Reporter Kim Tae-hoon reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

A key official in the South Korean military told SBS today (October 10), "Ever since Unification Minister Chung Dong-young publicly mentioned the 'uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Korea'—which is classified as South Korea-U.S. combined classified information—in March, restrictions on intelligence sharing by the U.S. side have continued."

In particular, the official lamented, "Currently, only North Korean missile intelligence is being provided."

Previously, South Korea-U.S. intelligence sharing covered a broad scope, ranging from military fields such as North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, conventional capabilities, and deployment status in the war in Ukraine, to the latest movements of North Korea's top leadership, including Kim Jong-un, and China-Russia diplomatic relations. Now, however, the U.S. side is reportedly sharing only technical parameters with the South Korean military, such as pre-launch signs and post-launch altitude, range, and speed of North Korean missiles.

Because sharing North Korean missile information is a matter of trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan that Washington cannot unilaterally suspend, analysts assess that providing missile intelligence alone effectively means U.S. intelligence sharing on North Korea has been cut off.

However, a senior South Korean government official stated, "It is true that the total amount of North Korea intelligence provided by the U.S. has decreased," but attributed the cause to the Russia-Ukraine war and the U.S.-Iran war.

The official explained that because U.S. reconnaissance satellites and human intelligence, or HUMINT, are concentrated on the two war zones, U.S. intelligence capabilities regarding North Korea have merely been temporarily weakened, meaning that "friction between South Korean and U.S. authorities" is not the core reason behind the restricted sharing.

The official emphasized that once the wars come to an end and U.S. intelligence assets return to their primary missions, U.S. intelligence capabilities regarding North Korea will also be fully restored, adding, "Only then can the true status of South Korea-U.S. intelligence sharing be properly assessed."

(Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing by Lee Seung-hee | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.