Washington has restricted some satellite intelligence on North Korea with Seoul after a minister’s unauthorised disclosure of sensitive US information.
SEOUL: The United States has partially restricted the sharing of satellite intelligence on North Korea with its ally South Korea following unauthorised disclosures by a senior Seoul official.
According to multiple reports on Tuesday, the restrictions were imposed after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told parliament last month that North Korea was suspected of operating a uranium enrichment site in the northwestern Kusong region.
Washington lodged protests over Chung’s comments, which it said disclosed sensitive US intelligence without authorisation, leading to a limitation on some satellite information previously routinely handed over to Seoul.
A South Korean military official quoted by Yonhap news agency said the restrictions have applied since the beginning of this month but do not significantly affect military preparedness.
“Intelligence collection and sharing regarding North Korea’s military activities are proceeding normally between South Korean and US authorities, just as before,” the unnamed official reportedly said.
Seoul’s unification and defence ministries declined to comment on the reported restrictions, while the Pentagon did not respond to a request for confirmation.
Chung said on Monday it was deeply regrettable that his remarks had been interpreted as a leak of classified information, insisting they were based on publicly available data.
President Lee Jae Myung defended his minister, writing on X that the existence of the Kusong facility was already widely known through academic papers and media reports.
“Any claims or actions premised on the assumption that Minister Chung leaked classified information provided by the United States are wrong,” Lee added.
North Korea is known to operate uranium enrichment facilities at Yongbyon and Kangson, defying multiple United Nations sanctions banning its nuclear weapons development.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said last week that Pyongyang is showing a very serious increase in its ability to produce atomic weapons.
The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help counter military threats from the North.
