(EDITORIAL from The Korea Herald on Oct. 15)

A rift Seoul cannot afford

Ambassador to US identifies abnormality in intelligence sharing as major challenge

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told reporters at Government Complex Seoul on Monday that there is no problem with the South Korea-US alliance amid controversy over Washington's restrictions on sharing intelligence with Seoul. Chung rejected Washington's assessment that his remarks about nuclear facilities in North Korea's Kusong, North Pyongan Province, had disclosed classified US intelligence, calling it a "misunderstanding" and insisting that "the US is wrong."

At a National Assembly audit in Washington on the same day, South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha said high-level consultations between the two countries were taking place so infrequently that the situation was frustrating. "I acknowledge that there are limits to communication with the White House," she added. Asked about the most difficult outstanding issues in bilateral relations, Kang also identified "intelligence cooperation" as a major challenge.

At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Lee Jae Myung said the South Korea-US alliance is very important, but added that submissive and subservient attitudes should be avoided in relations between countries. He also stressed that South Korea is a sovereign, independent nation and that managing relations with the major powers surrounding it was important.

No US ally is immune to friction with the Donald Trump administration over security and trade. Yet most allied leaders seek to resolve disputes through behind-the-scenes negotiations, mindful of Washington's influence. Lee's remarks about the need to maintain national dignity are perfectly reasonable in principle. But going out of one's way to declare that South Korea will not submit is diplomatically unwise. The question now is how Washington will interpret his words.

During the Korean War, the United States deployed nearly 1.8 million troops to the peninsula, more than 36,000 of whom were killed in action. Today, more than 28,000 US troops remain stationed in South Korea, helping maintain stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea also relies heavily on US extended deterrence, including the nuclear umbrella, to counter the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear arsenal. Against this backdrop, putting the United States on the same footing as neighboring powers such as China and Russia is simply untenable.

Lee's remarks appear to reinforce Chung's assertion that there is nothing wrong with the South Korea-US alliance. But do the president and the unification minister fully appreciate the alliance's importance?

After Chung exposed the existence of nuclear facilities in Kusong in March, Washington, angered by what it regarded as a leak of classified intelligence about the site, began restricting some intelligence on North Korea gathered by its satellites.

The US military monitors North Korea's nuclear activities through hundreds of reconnaissance satellites and other surveillance assets. The imagery and signals intelligence it collects are vital to South Korea's ability to counter the threat from a nuclear-armed North Korea, especially given that Seoul has no nuclear weapons of its own. Any curtailment of such intelligence sharing is therefore a matter of grave concern.

Above all, intelligence and military cooperation depend on mutual trust. Restrictions on intelligence sharing send a troubling signal that confidence between the two sides has been eroded.

The two countries also face a host of major unresolved issues, including tariffs, South Korean investment in the United States and nuclear energy cooperation. If Seoul cannot maintain effective communication with key decision-makers in the White House, its national interests risk being pushed aside.

The US alliance remains a lifeline for South Korea. The stark reality is that Seoul still has much to seek from Washington on a range of issues. It cannot afford to let rifts in the alliance deepen and then pay the price in both security and economic terms.