"U.S. Forces Korea Commander Visited Defense Ministry Shortly After Chung Dong-young's Classified Remarks": People Power Party Demands Explanation

\r\n[Financial News] It has been claimed that the U.S. Forces Korea commander visited the Ministry of National Defense Building in Yongsan between Oct. 10 and 11, shortly after Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young disclosed the location of North Korea's third nuclear facility. The controversy has continued since Chung pointed to the location of North Korea's third nuclear site in Kusong, North Pyongan Province, during a session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the 6th of last month, a disclosure that allegedly involved top-secret U.S. intelligence.
On the 22nd, lawmakers from the People Power Party on the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly called on the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea to disclose whether the U.S. Forces Korea commander had visited the ministry building on Oct. 10 and 11 last month. They also urged the ministry to reveal whether the commander had discussed Chung's remarks.
The People Power Party argued that "whether the U.S. Forces Korea commander came to the ministry building and whether there was any mention of the minister's inappropriate remarks is not military secret."
It also argued that "if there were no serious issues, would the U.S. Forces Korea commander have had time to visit Minister Ahn Gyu-back? North Korea's nuclear weapons are a serious issue for both South Korea and the United States. The Iran War also began over a nuclear issue."
The party said the Defense Ministry's rebuttal was nothing more than a sly word game: "It was not that the U.S. Forces Korea commander did not visit, and not that he did not mention Chung's remarks, but that it was not a protest."
The People Power Party lawmakers on the defense committee also claimed that Chung had offered a false explanation.
On the 20th, Chung said the basis for his remarks came from publicly available information and cited the original text published in 2016 by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). However, he said the report did not mention "Kusong" at all.
Instead, the original text said, "Identifying the exact location of facilities related to North Korea's gas centrifuge enrichment program has long been a difficult task. However, geographically pinpointing the location of such facilities will be very important in future nuclear negotiations with North Korea."
Chung also said, in effect, that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi had referred to Nyongbyon, Kusong and Kangson as areas where North Korea's uranium enrichment facilities were operating in a report on March 2. But he argued that Grossi never mentioned Kusong in his remarks at the time.
He also said the CSIS report Chung cited as the source of his Kusong remarks was not real. According to the party, CSIS directly denied it, saying, "We have never written such a report."
The People Power Party called on Chung to resign immediately over what it described as a false explanation. It also urged President Lee Jae Myung to dismiss Chung and restore South Korea–United States relations. 
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rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter