[Anchor]

Kang Kyung-wha, South Korean Ambassador to the United States, admitted during a parliamentary audit that an unusual atmosphere has recently emerged in South Korea-U.S. relations. She said that the U.S. side officially raised issues regarding intelligence cooperation, and that U.S. concerns have not yet been fully resolved. She also voiced frustration, stating there are difficulties in communicating with the White House.

Correspondent Lee Han-seok reports from Washington.

[Reporter]

At the National Assembly's parliamentary audit held at the South Korean Embassy to the United States in Washington,

Intensive questioning followed over the details of a closed-door meeting between the foreign ministers of South Korea and the United States held on September 18.

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon asked whether U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said, "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 to normalize relations."

[Han Dong-hoon / Independent Lawmaker: "Since the U.S. cannot interfere in domestic affairs, it cannot specifically demand who to replace, but in reality, isn't this the U.S. stating its position that it can no longer work with this lineup?"]

Ambassador Kang, who attended the meeting, drew the line by stating there was no mention of specific individuals, but acknowledged that there were issues regarding intelligence cooperation.

[Kang Kyung-wha / South Korean Ambassador to the U.S.: "There were remarks that there are problems with intelligence cooperation. I do not think the issue has been sufficiently resolved to the extent expected by the U.S. side."]

Ambassador Kang also confessed that she is experiencing difficulties communicating with the White House.

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

Regarding Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's remarks about a third nuclear facility in Kusong, North Pyongan Province, over which the U.S. raised intelligence leak concerns, Ambassador Kang stated that she directly explained the matter to the U.S. side upon Minister Chung's request.

Democratic Party lawmakers pushed back, arguing there is no need to unilaterally accept U.S. concerns and that one must look at the structural direction of the Trump administration's foreign policy.

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

Allegations were also raised that a major South Korean conglomerate suspended cooperation with a U.S. defense contractor out of concern over Chinese retaliation.

In response, Ambassador Kang said that while it is difficult to confirm specifics, South Korean companies sometimes face difficulties amid U.S.-China competition, and consultations with U.S. authorities are underway.

(Video by Oh Jung-sik | Video Editing by Lee Seung-yeol)