Kang Kyung-wha: Even White House Outreach Couldn't Break Through the Deadlock

Kang saw the intelligence-sharing dispute not as a crack in the alliance, but as an 'issue to be resolved'

Kang Kyung-wha, South Korea's ambassador to the United States, said on the 12th (local time) that the intelligence cooperation issue between South Korea and the United States is the most intractable issue in bilateral diplomacy, speaking at a National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee audit held at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. The audit examined how the intelligence cooperation issue came to light. The matter of U.S.-Korea intelligence sharing was first raised on the 18th of last month, when Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted at their summit that "there is a problem with intelligence cooperation."

Asked whether Secretary Rubio mentioned specific individuals, such as Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young and National Intelligence Service chief Lee Jong-seok, Ambassador Kang said, "I recall no such mentions." She added that after Minister Jeong's remarks about "North Korean operational nuclear facilities," she received a phone call from the minister, who explained that the U.S. side's concerns were about the remarks themselves, not a personal criticism.

Regarding South Korea's response, Ambassador Kang said, "I don't think it has been resolved sufficiently to the extent the U.S. side expects," suggesting the issue could be prolonged. She noted that communication between the two countries' intelligence agencies has taken place and, as far as she knows, progress has been made.