Ruling party lawmaker expresses deep regret over US visa delay

Rep. Jung Chung-rae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea criticized U.S. authorities Tuesday over a visa delay that prevented him from visiting Washington for a parliamentary audit of Seoul's diplomatic missions.

Jung had initially planned to join the audit team of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee on its U.S. trip earlier this month, but was forced to switch to the Europe audit team as his visa application remained under review ahead of his planned departure.

"I find the U.S. authorities' handling of the matter deeply regrettable," he said during a parliamentary audit, stressing that he had worked hard to promote friendly relations between Seoul and Washington.

Jung said he had no choice but to switch to the Europe audit team out of concern that he might not be able to participate in the parliamentary audit at all.

He also expressed regret that the main opposition party had turned the visa issue into a controversy about growing strains in the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

"This is a matter that both parties should transcend their differences and protest to the U.S. about, rather than using it to attack our government," he said.

The visa delay came amid concerns about apparent friction between South Korea and the United States over intelligence cooperation after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's public disclosure of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Korea, in March.

The U.S. has reportedly complained about Chung's disclosure of the information, which it believes was based on intelligence shared by Washington.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service also acknowledged that it had been excluded from a June trilateral meeting with the U.S. and Japan on North Korean cyber threats, following a news report claiming the agency had been left out at Washington's request.