[Anchor]

It has been reported that officials from South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) were unable to attend a trilateral meeting among South Korea, the United States, and Japan held in June to counter North Korean cyber threats due to opposition from the U.S. side. Although the NIS explained that it was due to a misunderstanding, concerns over South Korea-U.S. relations are growing.

Reporter Kim Jeong-yoon reports.

[Reporter]

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

Around 60 people attended the fifth meeting held in Washington in June, including officials from the three nations' diplomatic authorities and cyber personnel from relevant government agencies.

The number of participants dropped by around 10 compared to the previous meeting, and it was reported that South Korea's NIS, which has overseen cyber responses against North Korea, was unable to attend at the request of the U.S. side.

The NIS stated, "There was some misunderstanding a few months ago, but it is already in the past," which is seen as an indirect admission of the situation.

However, the NIS actively moved to clarify that certain media reports claiming Director Lee Jong-suk was denied a visit to a North Korea monitoring agency in the U.S. in March, or rumors that an NIS officer investigating Coupang was placed on a U.S. entry restriction list, are not true.

The NIS strongly pushed back against such reports, defining them as "attempts to shake the NIS" and expressing "serious concern."

While friction can exist between South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities, the current situation is considered highly unusual in that the signs of discord have surfaced publicly.

Ever since Unification Minister Chung Dong-young singled out Guseong in North Pyeongan Province as North Korea's third nuclear facility in March of 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 parts are restricted, I believe that resolving this situation quickly is ultimately the best course, and we are working toward that.]

A ruling bloc official told SBS, "It appears that dissatisfaction from the U.S. side began with how the South Korean government and the NIS responded to the Coupang issue."

Military authorities explained, however, that there are no problems between South Korea and the United States regarding cooperation on key military intelligence related to defense readiness.

Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo