U.S. expects S. Korea to 'uphold' alliance standards amid intelligence cooperation concerns: senior official

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By Chang Dong-woo and Lee Yu-mi

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. official said Friday that Washington expects Seoul to "uphold" the standards of their decadeslong alliance, amid heightened concerns over apparent friction in the countries' intelligence cooperation.

"We expect the ROK to uphold the standards of our decadeslong alliance, in particular concerning matters of intelligence and counterintelligence," the senior U.S. administration official told Yonhap News Agency in a written statement, referring to South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

The statement was provided in response to an inquiry from Yonhap News Agency regarding the state of bilateral intelligence cooperation.

The remarks follow growing speculation over bilateral friction after South Korea's National Intelligence Service acknowledged it was excluded from a June trilateral meeting, also involving Japan, on North Korean cyber threats. Local media reports indicated the agency was left out at Washington's request.

South Korea and the United States have faced signs of friction in the intelligence field after Seoul Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's public disclosure of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Korea in March.

While Chung has said he only shared what was already in the public domain, the move appears to have prompted Washington to restrict Seoul's access to some intelligence related to North Korea in apparent protest over the disclosure.

The strain in bilateral relations was also apparent in a delayed issuance of a U.S. visa for Rep. Jung Chung-rae, former leader of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party. Jung had planned to visit the United States for a parliamentary audit of Seoul's diplomatic missions.

Jung addressed the issue in a Facebook post, noting that his U.S. visa is under review and asking others to refrain from remarks that could harm the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

South Korean National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok leaves the National Assembly in Seoul after attending a plenary session of the parliamentary intelligence committee on Sept. 30, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

odissy@yna.co.kr (END)

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这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

张东宇、李裕美报道

华盛顿，10月9日（韩联社）——一位美国高级官员周五表示，鉴于两国情报合作中明显存在的摩擦日益加剧，华盛顿希望首尔“维护”两国数十年来的联盟标准。

“我们希望韩国维护我们数十年来的同盟标准，尤其是在情报和反情报事务方面，”一位美国高级政府官员在一份书面声明中告诉韩联社，他指的是韩国的正式名称——大韩民国。

该声明是对韩联社就双边情报合作状况提出的询问的回应。

此前，韩国国家情报院承认其被排除在6月份与日本共同举行的关于朝鲜网络威胁的三方会议之外，引发了外界对韩美双边摩擦的猜测。当地媒体报道称，韩国国家情报院是应华盛顿的要求被排除在外的。

今年3月，韩国统一部长官郑东荣公开披露朝鲜龟城拥有铀浓缩设施，此后韩国和美国在情报领域出现了摩擦迹象。

虽然郑义宣表示他只是分享了已经公开的信息，但此举似乎促使华盛顿限制首尔获取一些与朝鲜有关的情报，显然是为了抗议此次泄密事件。

韩美双边关系紧张也体现在美国对韩国执政党共同民主党前党首郑正来议员的签证申请迟迟未获批准。郑正来原计划访问美国，配合国会对首尔驻美外交机构的审计。

郑俊英在脸书上发帖回应了此事，指出他的美国签证正在接受审查，并要求其他人不要发表可能损害韩美同盟的言论。

2026年9月30日，韩国国家情报院院长李钟硕在首尔出席国会情报委员会全体会议后离开国会大厦。（联营照片）（韩联社）

odissy@yna.co.kr (完)

韩国间谍机构遭冷落引发美国对韩美同盟关系的担忧

工业部否认了有关卢特尼克对间谍机构不满的报道

美国高级官员表示，尽管存在情报合作方面的担忧，但美国仍希望韩国“维护”同盟标准。