SEOUL, April 24 - South Korea's national security adviser said on Thursday that while recent disagreements with the United States have created friction, the alliance between the two countries is not in a state of crisis. He acknowledged that strains exist and emphasized the need for careful management of the relationship.
The adviser, Wi Sung-lac, told reporters in Hanoi that consultations on security matters with the United States had been affected by a dispute tied to the U.S.-listed e-commerce company Coupang Inc. He argued that questions arising from a legal probe into the company should be resolved through legal processes and should not derail separate talks on a security agreement.
Following media reporting that Washington had threatened to pause security negotiations absent legal assurances for Coupang's Chairman Kim Bom, Seoul has pressed for discussions on the security agreement to continue independently of the investigation into a purported data leak at Coupang. Wi said Seoul's position is for the legal matter to proceed in the courts while security discussions move forward on their own track.
"It is true that it is affecting South Korea-U.S. security consultations," Wi said, according to the Yonhap News Agency. He added that Seoul wants the matter handled through legal procedures and for security talks to resume separately.
Wi acknowledged delays in security consultations but said Seoul is seeking a prompt resumption of talks. He framed the relationship with the United States as an alliance and a very close partnership in which differing views will sometimes arise and therefore require careful coordination.
"There can be differing views, and that is why they need to be carefully coordinated," Wi said. He warned against interpreting the current situation as the accumulation of abnormal tensions, calling such a reading an "excessive interpretation."
Using a metaphor reported by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, Wi likened an alliance to a garden that must be tended carefully and said the current circumstances reflect that management process.
Wi also addressed a separate matter involving Unification Minister Chung Dong-young. Reported by the Newsis news agency, Wi said the government does not believe Chung disclosed U.S.-provided intelligence when he publicly referenced North Korea's suspected uranium-enrichment site at Kusong. According to Wi, Washington appeared to believe material it had shared had been disclosed, but Chung has maintained he was not briefed on joint secret material and instead relied on open sources, a position Seoul shares.
The U.S. embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these issues.
Summary of developments
South Korea's national security adviser confirmed that a dispute connected to Coupang has complicated security consultations with the United States but insisted the bilateral alliance is not in crisis and called for legal and security matters to be handled on separate tracks. He also stated the government does not believe a South Korean minister leaked shared U.S. intelligence about North Korea's Kusong facility, and said the minister relied on open sources.