[Anchor]

The Trump administration told SBS that it "expects South Korea to uphold the standards of the South Korea-US alliance in the fields of intelligence and counterintelligence." This marks the first public message from the US government level, coming amid exposed cracks in South Korea-US intelligence cooperation, such as the recent exclusion of South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) from a meeting on responding to North Korean hacking.

First, Washington correspondent Jeon Byeong-nam reports on the significance of this development.

[Reporter]

Regarding the controversy over cracks in South Korea-US intelligence cooperation, the Donald Trump administration has emphasized compliance with alliance standards on intelligence and counterintelligence matters.

A senior official in the Trump administration told SBS in response to an inquiry about the current state of South Korea-US intelligence cooperation, "We expect South Korea to uphold the standards of the bilateral alliance that have been maintained for decades," adding, "Particularly regarding intelligence and counterintelligence-related matters."

A senior State Department official also answered SBS, saying, "We expect all allies to properly handle intelligence and counterintelligence matters."

Although no specific issue was singled out, this is seen as effectively expressing dissatisfaction with the South Korean government and the NIS regarding their handling of intelligence and counterintelligence matters.

In particular, given that strong diplomatic phrasing was used, it is also interpreted as carrying a warning-like message.

Previously, the NIS was unable to attend the 5th South Korea-US-Japan diplomatic working-group meeting on countering North Korean cyber threats held in Washington last June, due to a request from the US.

Regarding this, the NIS stated the day before yesterday (October 8), "There was some misunderstanding months ago, but it is already in the past," and "Currently, there are no misunderstandings between the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the US."

Friction over intelligence sharing between South Korea and the US began in earnest last March after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young mentioned the existence of a uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Pyongan Province, during a National Assembly session.

The US side reportedly protested that Minister Chung had disclosed sensitive information collected by the US, and subsequently restricted some of its provision of North Korea-related intelligence to South Korea.

[Jin Young-seung / Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (The day before yesterday): Some are restricted, but ultimately I think the best course is for this situation to be resolved quickly, and we are making efforts toward that.]

As the US side's position, which differs in tone from the NIS claim that "misunderstandings have been resolved," has emerged, the controversy is not expected to subside easily.

(Photo: Oh Jung-shik | Video Editing: Choi Jin-hwa | Design: Kim Ye-ji)