South Korea's national security adviser stressed on Thursday that the bilateral alliance with the United States remains intact, even as recent tensions linked to a dispute involving Coupang Inc have complicated security consultations, according to South Korean media reports.
Wi Sung-lac acknowledged that the dispute was affecting the rhythm of consultations with U.S. counterparts, and he urged that the handling of alliance matters be kept separate from legal proceedings tied to the company. Seoul has sought to separate talks on a security agreement with Washington from matters arising from a probe into a data leak at Coupang, after a media report said the U.S. had threatened to halt those talks unless there were legal guarantees for Coupang's chairman, Kim Bom.
"It is true that it is affecting South Korea-U.S. security consultations," Wi told reporters in Hanoi, the Yonhap News Agency reported. He said Seoul's position is that the legal matter should proceed through established judicial channels while security consultations should continue independently.
Wi confirmed that formal security consultations have been delayed, and was cited as saying Seoul wants talks to resume as soon as possible. He framed the relationship as close and inherently subject to differing views, saying such differences require careful coordination.
"The South Korea-U.S. relationship is an alliance and a very close relationship, so various issues arise," he said. "There can be differing views, and that is why they need to be carefully coordinated."
In comments reported by the JoongAng Ilbo, Wi cautioned against interpreting the current strains as evidence of deep or cumulative dysfunction in the alliance. He described such readings as "an excessive interpretation," and used an analogy to emphasize the need for ongoing attention: "An alliance is a very close relationship, but like a garden, it must be carefully managed. We are in that kind of process now."
Separately, Wi addressed questions about whether a South Korean cabinet minister had disclosed sensitive information. He said the government does not believe Unification Minister Chung Dong-young leaked U.S.-provided intelligence when Chung referred to North Korea's suspected uranium-enrichment site at Kusong, the Newsis news agency reported.
Wi acknowledged that Washington appeared to believe some information it had shared had been disclosed. He said the Kusong material was regarded as a joint South Korea-U.S. secret, but noted that Chung has maintained he was never briefed on such material and instead relied on open sources - a position Seoul shares, according to the report.
When asked about Wi's remarks concerning Chung, a senior U.S. administration official said: "The U.S. government expects all partners to safeguard sensitive U.S. information shared through private channels."