Korea to hold necessary discussions with US after CIA eavesdropping report
A Ukrainian Special Forces Serviceman fires a weapon during a training exercise in Donetsk region amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, April 6. AFP-Yonhap
The presidential office said Sunday it will hold necessary discussions with the United States following a U.S. report accusing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of intercepting Korean government communications regarding aid to Ukraine in war with Russia.
In a report published Saturday in the U.S. (local time), the New York Times said some parts of the CIA documents, posted on a social media chat platform Discord, detailed Korea's "internal debates about whether to give the U.S. artillery shells for use in Ukraine, violating Seoul's policy on providing lethal aid."
The newspaper noted Korean officials were concerned that U.S. President Joe Biden would pressure President Yoon Suk Yeol to come through and that the U.S. learned about Korean deliberations through "a signals intelligence report." It's a term used by spy agencies to describe intercepted communications, from phone calls to electronic messages, according to the New York Times.
In a press briefing Sunday, a presidential official said, "We will review precedents and instances involving other countries, and come up with our response accordingly."
The official said Korea has not yet decided on whether to supply Ukraine with weaponry.
"There is no change to our government's basic stance on Ukraine," the official said, referring to Korea's stated focus on providing humanitarian aid, rather than lethal weapons.
The presidential office reportedly held a meeting presided by National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong in the morning to discuss ways to respond to the New York Times report.
Yoon reportedly also ordered a thorough review of the issues upon receiving a report from officials on the matter. (Yonhap)