National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac updates the media on President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to Vietnam at a press briefing in Hanoi, Thursday. Yonhap
HANOI — South Korea and the U.S. have different views on Unification Minister Chung Dong-young’s remarks on North Korea’s nuclear facilities, which Washington sees as a “leak” of shared intelligence, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Thursday.
He also recognized that the issue involving Coupang, resulting from Korea’s investigation into a massive data breach and some American policymakers’ claim of Korea’s “discriminatory” treatment against the U.S.-headquartered company, has expanded to affect security discussions between the two nations.
“There is a difference in understanding the issue [intelligence on North Korean facilities],” Wi said in a press briefing in Hanoi during President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to Vietnam. “Minister Chung says his remarks are unrelated to intelligence shared by the U.S. as he has never obtained the shared information but talked about the facilities after learning about them from open sources. But the U.S. seems to believe Chung learned about it from the intelligence it shared with Korea.”
Chung publicly identified the city of Kusong in the North as a potential nuclear facility site during a parliamentary session in early March, and it was recently alleged that the U.S. complained about this and partially restricted its intelligence sharing on the North with the South.
The national security adviser also pointed to the president’s rejection of allegations against Chung in a social media post. “That is how it is understood by Korea, and the government holds that view as well,” he said.
“We’ll clarify the situation and take necessary measures to sort it out as soon as possible,” Wi added, saying the two countries are communicating through various channels about the issue.
As to Coupang, he admitted the issue has gone beyond a mere business matter and spilled over into security matters. This followed a media report that Washington asked Seoul to legally guarantee the safety of Coupang founder Bom Kim, who is an American citizen, if he enters Korea, and warned that, otherwise, the U.S. will not proceed with security discussions including negotiations on nuclear-powered submarines, uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
“The Coupang scandal is an issue of one company, but it is true that it is now affecting security talks between Korea and the U.S.,” Wi said. “We see that linking the two areas is inappropriate, so we have been discussing with the U.S. based on the stance that the Coupang issue should be dealt with according to the laws and that security negotiations should be conducted separately.”
“It is true that these negotiations are being delayed, which I believe is not helpful to the alliance as a whole,” he said. “We are making significant efforts to resume consultations, and we will redouble those efforts so that we can make progress.”
As for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson earlier testified before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that the two allies are working toward meeting OPCON transition conditions no later than 2029. The Lee administration, meanwhile, is considering 2028 as a target year for the handover.
Wi said Brunson appeared to be expressing “his personal view as a USFK commander.”
“This issue is not one to be handled by military commanders, but rather by the foreign and defense authorities of Korea and the U.S.,” Wi said.
Although its military aspects cannot be disregarded, he pointed out that OPCON transfer is “fundamentally a political decision.”
“The decision will be made by the leadership of both governments … We will make every effort to ensure that the transfer of OPCON takes place as soon as possible without any military gaps and without undermining the Korea-U.S. combined defense system.”
Despite diverging views on a series of incidents, Wi dismissed concerns that the Korea-U.S. relationship is under strain.
“I believe it is an overinterpretation to say the current situation has resulted from accumulated signs of strain over time,” he said. “It is not always possible to reach full agreements on everything. Different views can exist, and therefore they must be properly coordinated … Some of the current issues are among those matters, and we are working to coordinate them.”
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