"Issues with Intelligence Cooperation": South Korean Envoy Acknowledges Rift in Alliance

[Anchor]

Kang Kyung-wha, the South Korean Ambassador to the United States, admitted during a parliamentary audit that there have recently been unusual signs of friction in South Korea-US relations. She noted that the US officially raised concerns regarding intelligence cooperation, and Washington's concerns have not yet been sufficiently resolved. She also voiced frustration, acknowledging difficulties in communicating with the White House.

Correspondent Lee Hanseok reports from Washington.

[Reporter]

At the parliamentary audit held at the South Korean Embassy in Washington.

Lawmakers mounted an intensive round of questioning regarding what was discussed during the closed-door foreign ministers' meeting between South Korea and the United States on September 18.

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon asked whether US Secretary of State Rubio had said that "trust in National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-suk and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has been damaged, so please convey to the president the need for normalization."

[Han Dong-hoon / Independent Lawmaker: "Since the US cannot interfere in internal affairs, it cannot explicitly tell us who to replace. But in reality, isn't this an expression of the US position that it can no longer work with this lineup?"]

Ambassador Kang, who attended the meeting at the time, drew a line by stating there was no mention of specific personnel, but she did acknowledge that issues were raised regarding intelligence cooperation.

[Kang Kyung-wha / South Korean Ambassador to the US: "There was mention that there are issues with intelligence cooperation. I do not believe the issues have been sufficiently resolved to the level expected by the US side."]

Ambassador Kang also confessed that she has been facing difficulties communicating with the White House.

[Kang Kyung-wha / South Korean Ambassador to the US: "I will admit that there are limitations in communicating with the White House. High-level consultations at the level I would like to see are, at this point, frustrating even to me..."]

Regarding remarks by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young about a suspected third nuclear facility in Kusong, North Pyongan Province—which led the US side to raise concerns over intelligence leaks—Ambassador Kang stated that she personally gave an explanation to the US side upon Minister Chung's request.

Lawmakers from the Democratic Party pushed back, saying South Korea does not need to accept US concerns unilaterally and must look at the structural trajectory of the Trump administration's foreign policy.

[Park Sung-joon / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "Trying to shake things up by claiming South Korea-US ties are fractured over a single diplomatic issue stems from a viewpoint that misinterprets the broader flow of the international order."]

Allegations were also raised that a major South Korean conglomerate halted cooperation with a US defense firm due to concerns over retaliation from China.

In response, Ambassador Kang said that while it is difficult to confirm specific details, South Korean companies occasionally face hardships amid US-China competition, and that discussions are underway with US authorities.

Video by Oh Jung-sik | Video Editing by Lee Seung-yeol
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.