Dong-Hoon Han "Rubio mentions damage to trust in Korean information line"... Kang Kyung-hwa “No personnel mention” (comprehensive)

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Yu-mi = The claim that the U.S. Donald Trump administration raised issues about ROK-U.S. intelligence cooperation and mentioned damage to trust in the Korean intelligence command was raised during a government audit of the Korean Embassy in the U.S. on the 12th (local time).

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon questioned Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha intensively about the content of the meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on the 18th of last month during the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee audit held at the Embassy in Washington, DC.

One lawmaker asked, based on the information he had obtained, "Is it true that Secretary Rubio at the time asked President Lee Jae-myung to convey the need for normalization, saying that trust in the intelligence line leadership, including the Korean National Intelligence Service, had been damaged?"

Ambassador Kang did not comment specifically on this, but said, “There was an explanation from the U.S. regarding intelligence cooperation.”

When a member of the National Assembly repeatedly asked, "Didn't Minister Rubio raise issues with the current intelligence and unification line leadership, including Director of the National Intelligence Service Lee Jong-seok and Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young?" Ambassador Kang said, "As far as I remember, there was no mention of specific personnel."

When Ambassador Kang was asked whether the United States has ever expressed its distrust toward Director Lee and Minister Chung to our side in any way, he answered, "From what I have heard, no."

At the same time, he said, "(Minister Rubio) said that there was a problem with intelligence cooperation," and "Minister Cho Hyun said he would listen carefully to the concerns of the U.S. side, return to Korea, and work toward a solution in consultation with the relevant ministries."

He added, “The U.S. side also evaluated that much progress had already been made by then.” However, he said, “I don’t think the problem has been fully resolved as the U.S. expects.”

In response to an additional question from a member of the National Assembly, who asked, "Isn't the U.S. sticking to its position that it can't do anything like Director Lee and Minister Jeong?" Ambassador Kang said, "I cannot give a definitive answer to the specific mention of personnel in our government."

Representative Han said that the United States was suspicious of information leaks from South Korean intelligence and unification lines due to Minister Chung's remarks about "North Korea's nuclear facilities," and asked whether it was true that Secretary Rubio had strongly requested to prevent additional information leaks during the meeting at the time.

In response, Ambassador Kang refrained from commenting, saying, “It is difficult to confirm the specific content of the conversation.”

One lawmaker also claimed that Secretary Rubio raised the issue at the meeting at the time of a Korean conglomerate suspending trade discussions with a leading U.S. defense company due to concerns about possible sanctions from China.

Ambassador Kang said that it was difficult to confirm the specifics of the statement, but said, "When it comes to the defense industry, both the U.S. and China have quite unique regulatory systems," and "certain companies that do business between them are experiencing difficulties."

He then explained that the government is listening to the company's difficulties and consulting with U.S. authorities to resolve them. He said, “Our government believes that it is ultimately best to leave it up to the companies to make their own decisions.”

At the correspondents' meeting held after the National Assembly inspection in the morning, Rep. Han emphasized that the problems in Korea-US relations must be faced squarely, saying, "Secretary Rubio spoke to Minister Cho, and if so, he made up his mind at the national level and delivered the message."

In response to a reporter's question, "Does it appear that Secretary Rubio directly requested the replacement of Director Lee and Minister Jeong?" Rep. Han explained, "I don't think the United States would want to be seen as interfering in internal affairs. I understand that the argument was made to the effect that trust in the information line has been broken and this should be normalized."

In response, Rep. Park Seong-joon of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed out that the facts had not been confirmed, saying in response to Rep. Han's remarks, "Have they been fact-checked? Are you saying that Secretary Rubio said that?"

Rep. Park criticized Rep. Han, saying that it was not appropriate to bring up the claims raised by the National Assembly Inspector General again at the meeting, and that “it is not appropriate to ask questions based on the assumption that they are facts.”

Then, a lawmaker responded by saying, “Don’t they (reporters) know that I am speaking under my own responsibility?”

Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Seong-gyu also countered, saying, “If the United States doesn’t like it, should we all follow it?” and said there was no need to unilaterally accept the United States’ concerns.