No 'malicious intent' in U.S. wiretapping: Deputy security adviser

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No 'malicious intent' in U.S. wiretapping: Deputy security adviser

Published: 12 Apr. 2023, 17:33 Updated: 13 Apr. 2023, 16:25

Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, speaks to reporters after arriving at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Tuesday to kick off a five-day trip to the United States. [NEWS1]

South Korea's deputy national security adviser said that Washington likely didn't have any "malicious intent," referring to leaked classified Pentagon documents purporting that U.S. intelligence authorities had been spying on allies including South Korea.

"Currently, a third party is implicated in a large part of this incident," Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, told reporters at Dulles International Airport near Washington on Tuesday. "And there is no evidence that our ally, the United States, had any malicious intention towards us."

The remarks follow reports over the weekend that that the U.S. intelligence community had been eavesdropping on Korean presidential aides' deliberations on providing arms to Ukraine in its war with Russia, citing purported top secret Pentagon documents shared on social media.

While Kim didn't further elaborate on who the "third party" was, he seemed to be referring to another country, possibly Russia.

When asked if he has any position to deliver to the United States on the matter, Kim said that the U.S. Defense Department is in the process of investigating the issue and that he has nothing more to say as most of the documents were "faked."

Kim arrived in Washington to kick off a five-day trip which runs to Saturday to discuss with U.S. officials President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the United States later this month.

Presidential officials are indicating that Seoul is not likely to make a diplomatic issue out of the wiretapping allegations, stressing that the United States is also undertaking its own investigation into the matter.

In his first public remarks on the leaked documents, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that the United States takes the matter "very seriously" and "will continue to investigate and turn over every rock" until it finds the source and the extent of the leaks.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press conference in Washington alongside Austin that he had spoken to U.S. allies to "reassure them about our own commitment to safeguarding intelligence."

Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin likewise told reporters at the National Assembly on Wednesday that Seoul is in "close communication" with Washington on the issue after assessing that "many of the documents have been fabricated."

"As the U.S. government is in the process of getting to the truth, and Korea and the United States will be able to share information when it does," Park said.

However, Park said there was "nothing to confirm" at the current stage in response to local media reports that Korea will provide 500,000 rounds of 155-millimenter artillery shells through a loan to the United States.

Korea officially maintains the position that it will not provide lethal weapons to countries at war and will focus on humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

However, Korea's rivaling political parties have been split on the U.S. wiretapping allegations and its implications.

Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the liberal Democratic Party (DP), questioned deputy security chief Kim's remarks on malicious intent Wednesday, asking, "Then is it okay to illegally wiretap allies if it's in good faith?"

The DP has been calling the revelations a "security disaster," raising the possibility that there had been security compromises in the process of relocating the presidential office to Yongsan.

Lawmakers of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) in turn accused the DP of trying to "politicize diplomatic issues" while taking a cautious approach, leaving open the possibility that some of the leaked documents may be real.

"It is a publicly known fact that not only the United States, but also other countries engage in wiretapping," PPP Rep. Sung Il-jong told SBS radio Wednesday. "It would be a serious problem if the United States is only focused on us. But every country is wiretapping. It's just that they're not making it public."

The presidential office on Tuesday brushed off concerns of wiretapping of its premises, the former Defense Ministry headquarters in Yongsan, describing it as "false suspicions."

Ahead of the state visit to the United States, Yoon appointed Cho Hyun-dong as new Korean ambassador to Washington, presenting him his credentials at the Yongsan presidential office on Wednesday morning.

The whirlwind appointment comes after his predecessor, Cho Tae-yong, was abruptly appointed as new national security adviser after Kim Sung-han stepped down from the post on March 29.

Former national security chief Kim and Lee Moon-hee, who served as presidential secretary for foreign affairs before he also resigned last month, were two individuals named in a purported leaked top secret U.S. intelligence document shared on social media which described Korea's concerns over U.S. pressure to help supply ammunition to Ukraine.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, presents new Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Hyun-dong with his letter of credentials at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Wednesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]