[Defense secretary speaks to South Korean counterpart after leak
suggesting US was spying on Seoul’s internal discussions on arms
sales]
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PENTAGON LEAKS: US SEEKS TO MEND TIES AFTER CLAIMS WASHINGTON SPIED
ON KEY ALLIES  
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Justin McCurry in Tokyo, Julian Borger in Washington and Ben Doherty
in Sydney
April 11, 2023
The Guardian
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_ Defense secretary speaks to South Korean counterpart after leak
suggesting US was spying on Seoul’s internal discussions on arms
sales _

Lloyd Austin spoke with his South Korean counterpart after leaked
Pentagon documents purportedly showed Washington had been spying on
friendly countries, Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

 

The US is attempting to mend fences with key allies after leaked
Pentagon documents claimed Washington had been spying on friendly
countries including South Korea
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The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, spoke to his South Korean
counterpart on Tuesday as officials in Seoul denied the possibility
that the president’s office could have been the source of leaks over
South Korean arms sales to the US.

The disclosure of the highly classified material represents
Washington’s worst national security breach in many years
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and included details about Ukraine’s lack of ammunition and US
intelligence collection methods used against Russia.

One of the latest leaks claims Egypt was planning to covertly supply
Russia with rockets and other munitions, although the US was said to
believe the plan had never been carried out, the Washington Post
reports
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Asked about the documents, the spokesperson for Egypt’s foreign
ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, told the Washington Post: “Egypt’s
position from the beginning is based on non-involvement in this crisis
and committing to maintain equal distance with both sides, while
affirming Egypt’s support to the UN charter and international
law.”

The unverified documents relating to South Korea, including some
apparently based on internal discussions among top South Korean
security officials, claimed Seoul was concerned that artillery shells
bound for the US could eventually find their way to Ukraine
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The possibility that South Korean weapons could be used by Ukraine
would be deeply problematic for the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, as it
would violate the country’s longstanding policy – supported by a
majority of voters – of not exporting weapons to countries at war.

On Tuesday, however, officials attempted to play down the significance
of the Pentagon documents, whose authenticity has not been
independently confirmed. Yoon’s office said an initial investigation
had concluded there was “little chance” that internal discussions
had been intercepted by US intelligence officials, the Yonhap news
agency said.

Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea’s deputy national security adviser, claimed
the information reportedly gleaned from internal discussions was
“untrue” and had been “altered”.

“The two countries have the same assessment – that much of the
information disclosed is altered,” Kim told reporters as he left for
Washington in advance of Yoon’s visit to the US at the end of the
month.

The undated document in question said South Korea had agreed to sell
artillery shells to help the US replenish its stockpiles, insisting
that the “end user” should be the US. But it added that senior
South Korean officials were worried that Washington would divert the
shells to Ukraine.

Kim said speculation that the US had been spying on South Korea – a
key ally and host to 28,500 US troops – would not harm bilateral
ties. “The US is the country with the world’s best intelligence
capabilities and since [Yoon’s] inauguration we have shared
intelligence in almost every sector,” he said.

Some analysts suggest the leaks of more than 100 highly classified US
defence documents could be the “tip of the iceberg”, warning that
the US could expect more damage to its reputation and its
relationships with allies.

One document, marked top secret from a CIA intel update on 1 March,
says Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency was encouraging its
officers to take part in protests against the Israeli government’s
plans to weaken the independence of the judiciary
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The Israeli government denied there had been any Mossad involvement in
the demonstrations.

Another document, dated 23 February and marked secret, outlined in
detail how Ukraine’s Soviet-era S-300 air defence systems would be
depleted
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by 2 May at the current usage rate.

The chief of the Australian Defence Force, Gen Angus Campbell,
described the alleged leaks as potentially damaging and said their
dissemination could undermine trust between allies.

Echoing the comments of the US national security
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spokesperson, John Kirby, who said the leaked information “has no
business … on the front pages of newspapers, or on television”,
Campbell said there was a security imperative to keeping some
information secret.

“There is a national interest in the protection of some
information,” he told the Lowy Institute thinktank in Sydney.

The leaks come a fortnight before Yoon – a conservative who has
taken a hard line on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme – is
due to hold talks with Joe Biden in Washington. They also underline
Seoul’s diplomatically awkward stance on the Russian invasion of
Ukraine.

While it has joined international sanctions against the Kremlin and
provided non-lethal aid to Kyiv, South Korea has stopped short of
providing weapons, citing domestic laws that ban sending arms to war
zones. But critics have accused Yoon of trying to protect South Korean
exports to Russia, whose support it needs to pressure North Korea.

Polls indicate voters back Yoon’s stance on arms exports. In a poll
by Gallup Korea last June, most South Koreans said the government
should provide only non-lethal aid to Ukraine. The poll found that 72%
said assistance should be restricted to medical, food and other
non-military aid, while just 15% said Seoul should also send weapons
to Kyiv.

_Additional reporting by Martin Belam_

 

 

* US Foreign Policy
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