U.S. expressed intent to cooperate with Korea over leakage issue: Foreign Ministry

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U.S. expressed intent to cooperate with Korea over leakage issue: Foreign Ministry

Published: 13 Apr. 2023, 09:51 Updated: 13 Apr. 2023, 10:30

Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks at a session of the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee in Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Korea's top diplomat said Wednesday that Washington has expressed its intent to cooperate with Seoul in dealing with the issue of leaked Pentagon documents that purport the United States had eavesdropped on Seoul's top security officials.

Foreign Minister Park Jin said during a session of the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee that the United States takes the issue "seriously" and it has "expressed its willingness to fully cooperate with our government through close communication."

The authenticity of the documents has gained wide attention after The New York Times and The Washington Post reported them revealing that U.S. intelligence services allegedly eavesdropped on Seoul's internal debates about providing weapons to the United States for use in Ukraine.

The Korean presidential office has rejected the eavesdropping allegations as "absurd and false."

Park said earlier in the day that much of the information contained in the purported documents appear to have been fabricated, but later told lawmakers at the committee session that "fact-finding is of the utmost importance at the moment."

When asked whether Seoul is willing to engage with Washington on the matter, Park said "there is no topic that cannot be discussed" between the two countries and that Korea requested the United States share details of the incident after figuring out what had happened.

"We will try to draw results that the people can understand and accept in terms of our sovereignty and national interests," Park said. He added wiretapping itself is problematic and that the government will "review demanding appropriate measures from the United States, if needed."

Lawmakers mainly from the main opposition Democratic Party have lashed out at the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol for taking a submissive attitude toward Washington over the matter.

Park also told lawmakers the government is taking steps to reinforce security at the presidential office building, as some critics have claimed the Yoon administration's relocation of the office from the former presidential complex, Blue House, made it more vulnerable to spying attempts.

Yonhap