Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Unification minister at center of controversy over intelligence sharing with US
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is questioned by reporters at the Government Complex Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
USFK commander allegedly complained to Seoul over Chung's North Korea nuclear remarks
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is at the center of a deepening intelligence controversy, with the U.S. military and embassy officials allegedly filing complaints over his public identification of the city of Kusong, Pyongan Province as the site of a North Korean nuclear facility, prompting rebuttals from Seoul and raising concerns over trust between the two allies.
Rep. Sung Il-jong, a member of the main opposition People Power Party and chair of the National Defense Committee, said Tuesday that U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson allegedly lodged a complaint with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back over Chung’s reference to Kusong as a nuclear facility. Sung added that the U.S. Embassy’s intelligence official in Seoul also filed a complaint with the National Intelligence Service over the matter.
The Ministry of Defense immediately refuted the claim, saying, “It is not diplomatically inappropriate for the U.S. Forces Korea Commander to file a complaint with the defense minister and it is not true.”
“South Korea and the U.S. are maintaining close, ongoing communication on key issues and are strictly adhering to the General Security of Military Information Agreement,” the defense ministry added.
The dispute traces back to a March 6 session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, during which Chung identified North Korean uranium enrichment facilities in Yongbyon, Kusong and Kangson. According to media reports, the U.S. subsequently curtailed some North Korea intelligence sharing with Seoul, with Washington lodging strong protests through multiple diplomatic channels over concerns that Kusong's status as a suspected third nuclear facility had been made public, despite being considered sensitive intelligence.
Chung and the Unification Ministry have maintained that the remarks were drawn entirely from publicly available sources, including reports by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Institute for Science and International Security.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung defended Chung against the allegations.
“It is an undeniable fact that prior to Minister Chung’s remarks regarding the 'Kusong nuclear facilities,' the existence of these facilities was already widely known throughout the world through various academic papers and media reports.” Lee wrote on his X, formerly Twitter. "All claims and actions premised on the assumption that Minister Chung 'leaked classified information provided by the U.S.' are wrong."
Some government officials also sought to reframe the U.S. response, saying the U.S. Embassy in Seoul had sought to verify the facts with unification ministry officials rather than formally protest, noting that the South Korean government does not view it as a complaint.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Park Il said the ministry could not confirm the details of communications between the two sides.
However, Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the CSIS, denied Chung’s claim that it was based on a CSIS report, writing on his X account, “Just for information. CSIS has never done a report on nuke facilities at Kusong. Just setting the record straight.”
Analysts said the official context of the remarks from a high-ranking government official makes them consequential regardless of their source.
Nam Sung-wook, chair professor at Sookmyung University and former chief of the Institute for National Security Strategy, was quoted as saying, “The remarks are regarded as official because South Korea’s unification minister made them in a public setting. The U.S. could respond by considering limits on future intelligence sharing.”
The dispute is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Chung, a journalist-turned-lawmaker who served as unification minister from 2004 to 2005. He is known as a proponent of inter-Korean engagement, a stance that has repeatedly put him at odds with other ministries and conservative voices.
Last month, Chung claimed that South Korea should not join the U.N. resolution against the North, while other ministries backed the move.
Chung also came under media scrutiny recently for referring to North Korea by its official full name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in what was seen as a move to treat the North as an independent state. The wording drew attention, as it could be viewed as running counter to the Constitution, which defines North Korea as part of South Korea’s territory.