Blue House calls report linking U.S. intelligence-sharing restrictions on North Korea to Coupang “not fact-based”; says Seoul and Washington are in close talks

[Financial News] On the 16th, the Blue House urged caution in response to reports that the United States had linked the lifting of restrictions on sharing information about North Korea to the Coupang issue, saying, “Please exercise caution, as reports not based on facts could also affect South Korea-U.S. relations.”
The Blue House said in a press notice that day, “South Korea and the United States are communicating and consulting closely on various issues at all levels.”
Earlier, some media outlets, citing a senior ruling-party official, reported that U.S. intelligence agencies had told the South Korean government that lifting restrictions on sharing information about North Korea would require restoring trust between the intelligence agencies and resolving economic issues, including Coupang. The reports also said the official had shared the U.S. position within the government.
According to the reports, the United States viewed remarks by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young in March about a uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Korea, as a leak of classified information and had restricted some sharing of information about North Korea. The reports suggested that, with economic issues also being linked to the matter, explaining the circumstances behind Chung’s remarks alone might not be enough to resolve the restrictions on information sharing.
The reports also said the U.S. side was taking issue with the South Korean government’s investigation into the large-scale leak of personal information at Coupang and its imposition of administrative fines, viewing them as discriminatory measures against U.S. companies. They further reported that, although the South Korean government had explained that Chung’s remarks about a nuclear facility in Kusong did not disclose classified information obtained from the United States, the restrictions on information sharing remained in place.

[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter