US raises intelligence-sharing concerns with South Korea, Seoul's ambassador says

Centre · 1South Korea's ambassador to the United States, Kang Kyung-wha, said Washington had raised concerns about intelligence cooperation and that Seoul had not yet fully addressed US expectations, Yonhap news agency reported on 13 October. 1 Centre · 1Kang told a South Korean parliamentary audit in Washington that intelligence sharing was the most difficult issue in bilateral relations, and said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised it with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun last month. 1 Centre · 1She did not detail Washington's concerns, but said communication between the two countries' intelligence agencies was continuing and had made progress; she also said access to senior White House officials had been limited. 1

Centre · 1Bloomberg, in a piece carried by the South China Morning Post, quoted Kang as saying 'There are limitations in our communication with the White House' and 'I find it somewhat frustrating', and described this as a rare admission of an 'issue' with Washington's sharing of covert data. 2 Centre · 2South Korean media reported that Washington asked that Seoul's National Intelligence Service be excluded from a June meeting with US and Japanese officials on North Korean cyber threats; the NIS said this reflected a past misunderstanding that had been resolved, acknowledged restrictions on some intelligence tied to the earlier dispute, and denied that the US had reduced sharing of North Korean missile information or cut overall intelligence flow. 1 2 Centre · 1Bloomberg also cited earlier reports that a South Korean official disclosed US intelligence about a secret North Korean nuclear facility, which President Lee Jae Myung rejected as 'absurd'. 2

Centre · 1A State Department spokesman said the US expects South Korea to uphold the standards of an alliance, 'particularly' on intelligence and counter-intelligence matters, while White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the US has a strong relationship with South Korea and that a recent Trump–Lee meeting 'enhanced' it. 2 Centre · 2An official at South Korea's presidential office said the government is working to strengthen trust with the US and called the alliance the cornerstone of its foreign and security policy; the NIS did not respond to Bloomberg's calls, and the foreign ministry had no immediate comment to Reuters. 2 1 Centre · 1Bloomberg placed the intelligence issue among wider frictions: US complaints that Seoul slow-walked an investment deal and discriminated against Coupang, Lee's questioning of an Alaska LNG project, Trump scaling back military drills, and a politician's cancelled US trip over a reported visa delay. 2

Centre · 1Analysts quoted by Bloomberg said the dispute is serious: Victor Cha of CSIS said it conveys that the US does not trust Korea as an ally, and Jenny Town of the Stimson Centre said it paints an alliance that is 'highly strained and losing trust'; Bloomberg noted no sign the US will withdraw any of its 28,000 troops. 2 Centre · 1Kang also said Seoul and Washington were discussing ways to secure South Korean rights to enrich uranium and reprocess spent fuel, and that there was no progress toward a Trump–Kim Jong Un summit. 1 Centre · 2Lee told a cabinet meeting that South Korea should avoid subservient attitudes, while calling the US alliance a central pillar of diplomacy that should be developed further and saying differences should be managed through discussion. 1 2